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 (68917)
IBM Security Verify Governance, Identity Manager 10.0.1 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
When displaying the sender of an email, and the sender name contained the Braille Pattern Blank space character multiple times, Thunderbird would have displayed all the spaces. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
If an attacker was able to corrupt the methods of an Array object in JavaScript via prototype pollution, they could have achieved execution of attacker-controlled JavaScript code in a privileged. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An attacker could have sent a message to the parent process where the contents were used to double-index into a JavaScript object, leading to prototype pollution and ultimately attacker-controlled. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When viewing an email message A, which contains an attached message B, where B is encrypted or digitally signed or both, Thunderbird may show an incorrect encryption or signature status. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When importing a revoked key that specified key compromise as the revocation reason, Thunderbird did not update the existing copy of the key that was not yet revoked, and the existing key was kept as. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CodeIgniter is a PHP full-stack web framework. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
AyaCMS 3.1.2 is vulnerable to file deletion via /aya/module/admin/fst_del.inc.php. 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.
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2022.3.1 code Templates were vulnerable to SSTI attacks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2022.3.1 the "Validate JSP File" action used the HTTP protocol to download required JAR files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Apache ShardingSphere-Proxy prior to 5.3.0 when using MySQL as database backend didn't cleanup the database session completely after client authentication failed, which allowed an attacker to execute. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A user enumeration vulnerability exists in the login functionality of Ghost Foundation Ghost 5.9.4. 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.
The package liquidjs before 10.0.0 are vulnerable to Information Exposure when ownPropertyOnly parameter is set to False, which results in leaking properties of a prototype. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Dataprobe iBoot-PDU FW versions prior to 1.42.06162022 contain a vulnerability where the affected product exposes sensitive data concerning the device. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), 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.
A vulnerability was found in pig-vector and classified as problematic. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Sensitive Cookie Without 'HttpOnly' Flag in GitHub repository lirantal/daloradius prior to master. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Insights for Vulnerability Remediation (IVR) is vulnerable to improper input validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insights for Vulnerability Remediation (IVR) is vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks that may lead to information disclosure. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Roxio Creator LJB starts another program with an unquoted file path. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
KDDI +Message App, NTT DOCOMO +Message App, and SoftBank +Message App contain a vulnerability caused by improper handling of Unicode control characters. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Silverstripe silverstripe/subsites through 2.6.0 has Insecure Permissions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Some smartphones have the input validation vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The Wi-Fi module has a vulnerability in permission verification. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The kernel module has an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The HAware module has a function logic error. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The power consumption module has an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The IPC module has defects introduced in the design process. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The contacts component has a free (undefined) provider vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
The TelephonyProvider module has a vulnerability in obtaining values.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect data confidentiality. 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.
The system service has a vulnerability that causes incorrect return values. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Security Guardium 11.4 could allow a privileged user to obtain sensitive information inside of an HTTP response. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Sensitive Information vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive data that should not be disclosed.
IBM Spectrum Control 5.4 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
ghinstallation provides transport, which implements http.RoundTripper to provide authentication as an installation for GitHub Apps. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7). Public exploit code available.
All versions of package safe-eval are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution which allows an attacker to add or modify properties of the Object.prototype.Consolidate when using the function safeEval. 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.
The Microchip RN4870 module firmware 1.43 (and the Microchip PIC LightBlue Explorer Demo 4.2 DT100112) mishandles reject messages. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Microchip RN4870 module firmware 1.43 (and the Microchip PIC LightBlue Explorer Demo 4.2 DT100112) accepts PairCon_rmSend with incorrect values. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Microchip RN4870 module firmware 1.43 (and the Microchip PIC LightBlue Explorer Demo 4.2 DT100112) accepts PauseEncReqPlainText before pairing is complete. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Patchelf v0.9 was discovered to contain an out-of-bounds read via the function modifyRPath at src/patchelf.cc. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Cortex provides multi-tenant, long term storage for Prometheus. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 could be vulnerable to sensitive information exposure by passing API keys to log files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Sensitive information was stored in plain text in a file that is accessible by a user with a local account in Hybrid Cloud Observability (HCO)/ SolarWinds Platform 2022.4. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Parsing a maliciously crafted X_B and PRT file can force Autodesk Maya 2023 and 2022 to read beyond allocated buffer. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in Click Studios Passwordstate and Passwordstate Browser Extension Chrome and classified as critical. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been found in Click Studios Passwordstate and Passwordstate Browser Extension Chrome and classified as problematic. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Click Studios Passwordstate and Passwordstate Browser Extension Chrome. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Wholesale Market for WooCommerce WordPress plugin before 1.0.8 does not validate user input used to generate system path, allowing high privilege users such as admin to download arbitrary file. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Wholesale Market for WooCommerce WordPress plugin before 1.0.7 does not have authorisation check, as well as does not validate user input used to generate system path, allowing unauthenticated. 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.
A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Click Studios Passwordstate and Passwordstate Browser Extension Chrome. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In specific scenarios, on Windows the operator credentials may be encrypted in a manner that is not completely machine-dependent. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in handling the requests to Apache Traffic Server.0.0 to 9.1.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
GossipSub 1.1, as used for Ethereum 2.0, allows a peer to maintain a positive score (and thus not be pruned from the network) even though it continuously misbehaves by never forwarding topic messages. 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.
PHP Remote File Inclusion in GitHub repository flatpressblog/flatpress prior to 1.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel before 6.0.11. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), 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.
BigBlueButton is an open source web conferencing system. 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.
A vulnerability has been identified in Micro Focus GroupWise Web in versions prior to 18.4.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
PAX A930 device with PayDroid_7.1.1_Virgo_V04.3.26T1_20210419 can allow a root privileged attacker to install unsigned packages. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
BigBlueButton is an open source web conferencing system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Sensitive Information vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive data that should not be disclosed.
A vulnerability exists in the Rockwell Automation controllers that allows a malformed CIP request to cause a major non-recoverable fault (MNRF) and a denial-of-service condition (DOS). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Rockwell Automation was made aware that the webservers of the Micrologix 1100 and 1400 controllers contain a vulnerability that may lead to a denial-of-service condition. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability in Delta Electronics DOPSoft. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Dromara HuTool up to 5.8.10. 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.
BigBlueButton is an open source web conferencing system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Sensitive Information vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive data that should not be disclosed.
A vulnerability was found in Freedom of the Press SecureDrop. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
A blind site-to-site request forgery vulnerability was found in Satellite server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Adobe Illustrator versions 26.5.1 (and earlier), and 27.0 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Adobe Illustrator versions 26.5.1 (and earlier), and 27.0 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Adobe Illustrator versions 26.5.1 (and earlier), and 27.0 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Adobe Illustrator versions 26.5.1 (and earlier), and 27.0 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
In fdt_path_offset_namelen of fdt_ro.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In a query in MmsSmsProvider.java, there is a possible access to restricted tables due to SQL injection. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In Pixel firmware, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Pixel firmware, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In sms_GetTpUdlIe of sms_PduCodec.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In DoSetCarrierConfig of miscservice.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In MiscService::DoOemSetTcsFci of miscservice.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ProtocolSimBuilderLegacy::BuildSimGetGbaAuth of protocolsimbuilderlegacy.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In MiscService::DoOemSetRtpPktlossThreshold of miscservice.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ProtocolImsBuilder::BuildSetConfig of protocolimsbuilder.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In VsimOperationDataExt::encode of vsimdata.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In StringsRequestData::encode of requestdata.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to improper input validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An unauthenticated user can access Identity Manager’s management console specific page URLs. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In cellular modem firmware, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Pixel cellular firmware, 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. No vendor patch available.
In Pixel cellular firmware, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In SAEMM_MiningCodecTableWithMsgIE of SAEMM_RadioMessageCodec.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In SAECOMM_CopyBufferBytes of SAECOMM_Utility.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In SAECOMM_SetDcnIdForPlmn of SAECOMM_DbManagement.c, 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. No vendor patch available.
In getWpcAuthChallengeResponse of WirelessCharger.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In pop_descriptor_string of BufferDescriptor.h, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a missing bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ppmp_validate_secbuf of drm_fw.c, there is a possible information disclosure due to improper input validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.