Information Disclosure
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
How It Works
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security. This happens through multiple channels: verbose error messages that display stack traces revealing internal paths and frameworks, improperly secured debug endpoints left active in production, and misconfigured servers that expose directory listings or version control artifacts like .git folders. APIs often leak excessive data in responses—returning full user objects when only a name is needed, or revealing system internals through metadata fields.
Attackers exploit these exposures systematically. They probe for common sensitive files (.env, config.php, backup archives), trigger error conditions to extract framework details, and analyze response timing or content differences to enumerate valid usernames or resources. Even subtle variations—like "invalid password" versus "user not found"—enable account enumeration. Exposed configuration files frequently contain database credentials, API keys, or internal service URLs that unlock further attack vectors.
The attack flow typically starts with passive reconnaissance: examining HTTP headers, JavaScript bundles, and public endpoints for version information and architecture clues. Active probing follows—testing predictable paths, manipulating parameters to trigger exceptions, and comparing responses across similar requests to identify information leakage patterns.
Impact
- Credential compromise: Exposed configuration files, hardcoded secrets in source code, or API keys enable direct authentication bypass
- Attack surface mapping: Stack traces, framework versions, and internal paths help attackers craft targeted exploits for known vulnerabilities
- Data breach: Direct exposure of user data, payment information, or proprietary business logic through oversharing APIs or accessible backups
- Privilege escalation pathway: Internal URLs, service discovery information, and architecture details facilitate lateral movement and SSRF attacks
- Compliance violations: GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA penalties for exposing regulated data through preventable disclosures
Real-World Examples
A major Git repository exposure affected thousands of websites when .git folders remained accessible on production servers, allowing attackers to reconstruct entire source code histories including deleted commits containing credentials. Tools like GitDumper automated mass exploitation of this misconfiguration.
Cloud storage misconfigurations have repeatedly exposed sensitive data when companies left S3 buckets or Azure Blob containers publicly readable. One incident exposed 150 million voter records because verbose API error messages revealed the storage URL structure, and no authentication was required.
Framework debug modes left enabled in production have caused numerous breaches. Django's DEBUG=True setting exposed complete stack traces with database queries and environment variables, while Laravel's debug pages revealed encryption keys through the APP_KEY variable in environment dumps.
Mitigation
- Generic error pages: Return uniform error messages to users; log detailed exceptions server-side only
- Disable debug modes: Enforce production configurations that suppress stack traces, verbose logging, and debug endpoints through deployment automation
- Access control audits: Restrict or remove development artifacts (
.git, backup files,phpinfo()) and internal endpoints before deployment - Response minimization: API responses should return only necessary fields; implement allowlists rather than blocklists for data exposure
- Security headers: Deploy
X-Content-Type-Options, remove server version banners, and disable directory indexing - Timing consistency: Ensure authentication and validation responses take uniform time regardless of input validity
Recent CVEs (68895)
NLnet Labs' bcder library up to and including version 0.7.2 panics while decoding certain invalid input data rather than rejecting the data with an error. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A cleartext storage of sensitive information vulnerability [CWE-312] in FortiTester 2.3.0 through 7.2.3 may allow an attacker with access to the DB contents to retrieve the plaintext password of. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An incomplete filtering of one or more instances of special elements vulnerability [CWE-792] in the command line interpreter of FortiAP-U 7.0.0, 6.2.0 through 6.2.5, 6.0 all versions, 5.4 all. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor in Fortinet FortiSIEM version 6.7.0 through 6.7.5 allows attacker to information disclosure via a crafted http request. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A lack of custom error pages vulnerability [CWE-756] in FortiPresence versions 1.2.0 through 1.2.1 and all versions of 1.1 and 1.0 may allow an unauthenticated attacker with the ability to navigate. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An incomplete filtering of one or more instances of special elements vulnerability [CWE-792] in the command line interpreter of FortiAP-W2 7.2.0 through 7.2.1, 7.0.3 through 7.0.5, 7.0.0 through. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A password management vulnerability in Skyhigh Secure Web Gateway (SWG) in main releases 11.x prior to 11.2.14, 10.x prior to 10.2.25 and controlled release 12.x prior to 12.2.1, allows some. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Leyka plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in versions up to, and including, 3.30.7 via the 'leyka_ajax_get_env_and_options' function. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Interstitials in Google Chrome prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to obfuscate security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Picture in Picture in Google Chrome prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to spoof security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Intents in Google Chrome on Android prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to obfuscate security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Prompts in Google Chrome prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to spoof security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Custom Mobile Tabs in Google Chrome on Android prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to spoof security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Input in Google Chrome prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to spoof security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Prompts in Google Chrome prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to potentially spoof security UI via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Custom Tabs in Google Chrome on Android prior to 117.0.5938.62 allowed a remote attacker to obfuscate a permission prompt via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Piccolo is an ORM and query builder which supports asyncio. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A flaw was found in the Keycloak package, more specifically org.keycloak.userprofile. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties vulnerability in Honeywell PM43 on 32 bit, ARM (Printer web page modules) allows Privilege Escalation.19.050004. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Session Fixation vulnerability in Honeywell PM43 on 32 bit, ARM (Printer web page modules) allows Session Credential Falsification through Prediction.19.050004. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A PII Enumeration via Credential Recovery in the Self Service (Credential Recovery) of BlackBerry AtHoc version 7.15 could allow an attacker to potentially associate a list of contact details with an. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
User authentication with username and password credentials is ineffective in OpenText (Micro Focus) Visual COBOL, COBOL Server, Enterprise Developer, and Enterprise Server (including product variants. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An SQL Injection vulnerability in the Management Console (Operator Audit Trail) of BlackBerry AtHoc version 7.15 could allow an attacker to potentially read sensitive data from the database, modify. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Microsoft Office Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Windows GDI Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Windows TCP/IP Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
DHCP Server Service Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Integer Overflow vulnerability could allow attackers to cause unexpected behavior through arithmetic overflow.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Integer Overflow vulnerability could allow attackers to cause unexpected behavior through arithmetic overflow.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use of Uninitialized Resource vulnerability could allow attackers to access uninitialized memory causing crashes or information disclosure.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Windows GDI Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft Streaming Service Proxy Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
DHCP Server Service Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Exchange Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code through malicious serialized objects.
Microsoft Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability could allow attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries.
Microsoft SharePoint Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Outlook Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Sensitive Information vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive data that should not be disclosed.
Microsoft Word Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7).
Visual Studio Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
OpenCart CMS v4.0.2.2 was discovered to lack a protective mechanism on its login page against excessive login attempts, allowing unauthenticated attackers to gain access to the application via a. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Apache Airflow, versions before 2.7.1, is affected by a vulnerability that allows authenticated users who have access to see the task/dag in the UI, to craft a URL, which could lead to unmasking the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in QMS Automotive (All versions < V12.39). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.9), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in QMS Automotive (All versions < V12.39). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in QMS Automotive (All versions < V12.39). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in QMS Automotive (All versions < V12.39). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in QMS Automotive (All versions < V12.39). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in QMS Automotive (All versions < V12.39). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in JT2Go (All versions < V14.3.0.1), Teamcenter Visualization V13.3 (All versions < V13.3.0.12), Teamcenter Visualization V14.0 (All versions), Teamcenter. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in JT2Go (All versions < V14.3.0.1), Teamcenter Visualization V13.3 (All versions < V13.3.0.12), Teamcenter Visualization V14.0 (All versions), Teamcenter. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in JT2Go (All versions < V14.3.0.1), Teamcenter Visualization V13.3 (All versions < V13.3.0.12), Teamcenter Visualization V14.0 (All versions), Teamcenter. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insecure storage of sensitive information in Wing FTP Server (User Web Client) allows information elicitation.2.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP BusinessObjects Suite Installer - version 420, 430, allows an attacker within the network to create a directory under temporary directory and link it to a directory with operating system files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform (Promotion Management) - versions 420, 430, under certain condition allows an authenticated attacker to view sensitive information which is. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Due to insufficient file type validation, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform (Web Intelligence HTML interface) - version 420, allows a report creator to upload files from local system. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Due to the lack of validation, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform (Version Management System) - version 403, permits an unauthenticated user to read the code snippet through the UI,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in Node.js version 20, affecting users of the experimental permission model when the --allow-fs-read flag is used with a non-* argument. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A privacy issue was addressed with improved private data redaction for log entries. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved state management of S/MIME encrypted emails. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Magento LTS is the official OpenMage LTS codebase. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
In bindSelection of DatabaseUtils.java, there is a possible way to access files from other applications due to SQL injection. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In multiple locations, there is a possible way to import contacts belonging to other users due to a confused deputy. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In MtpPropertyValue of MtpProperty.h, there is a possible out of bounds read due to uninitialized data. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In loadMediaResumptionControls of MediaResumeListener.kt, there is a possible way to play and listen to media files played by another user on the same device due to a logic error in the code. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onHostEmulationData of HostEmulationManager.java, there is a possible way for a general purpose NFC reader to read the full card number and expiry details when the device is in locked screen mode. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
In convertSubgraphFromHAL of ShimConverter.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability could allow attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries.
The MasterStudy LMS WordPress Plugin WordPress plugin before 3.0.18 does not have proper checks in place during registration allowing anyone to register on the site as an instructor. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
ux-autocomplete is a JavaScript Autocomplete functionality for Symfony. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Softneta MedDream PACS stores usernames and passwords in plaintext. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Dover Fueling Solutions MAGLINK LX Web Console Configuration versions 2.5.1, 2.5.2, 2.5.3, 2.6.1, 2.11, 3.0, 3.2, and 3.3 could allow a guest user to elevate to admin privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Zoho ManageEngine ADManager Plus before Build 7200 allows admin users to execute commands on the host machine. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in TSplus Remote Access through 16.0.2.14. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
GPAC through 2.2.1 has a use-after-free vulnerability in the function gf_bifs_flush_command_list in bifs/memory_decoder.c. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
BASupSrvcUpdater.exe in N-able Take Control Agent through 7.0.41.1141 before 7.0.43 has a TOCTOU Race Condition via a pseudo-symlink at %PROGRAMDATA%\GetSupportService_N-Central\PushUpdates, leading. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue in Ethereum Blockchain v0.1.1+commit.6ff4cd6 cause the balance to be zeroed out when the value of betsize+casino.balance exceeds the threshold. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Govee Home app has unprotected access to WebView component which can be opened by any app on the device. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When checking if the Browsing Context had been discarded in `HttpBaseChannel`, if the load group was not available then it was assumed to have already been discarded which was not always the case for. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Excel `.xll` add-in files did not have a blocklist entry in Firefox's executable blocklist which allowed them to be downloaded without any warning of their potential harm. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Push notifications stored on disk in private browsing mode were not being encrypted potentially allowing the leak of sensitive information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Search queries in the default search engine could appear to have been the currently navigated URL if the search query itself was a well formed URL. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
On Windows, an integer overflow could occur in `RecordedSourceSurfaceCreation` which resulted in a heap buffer overflow potentially leaking sensitive data that could have led to a sandbox escape. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Anaconda 3 2023.03-1-Linux allows local users to disrupt TLS certificate validation by modifying the cacert.pem file used by the installed pip program. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
QEMU through 8.0.0 could trigger a division by zero in scsi_disk_reset in hw/scsi/scsi-disk.c because scsi_disk_emulate_mode_select does not prevent s->qdev.blocksize from being 256. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor in GitHub repository hamza417/inure prior to build92. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor in GitHub repository hamza417/inure prior to build92. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Aspera Faspex 5.0.5 does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources from an unintended security context.