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 (69245)
Windows Kernel Memory Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Group Policy Preference Client Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Group Policy Preference Client Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Client Server Run-time Subsystem (CSRSS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Client Server Run-time Subsystem (CSRSS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Graphics Component Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows WLAN Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft DWM Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows DHCP Client Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Hyper-V Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8).
Active Directory Certificate Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Windows Group Policy Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Windows Mixed Reality Developer Tools Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Windows Defender Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows DWM Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft has identified a vulnerability affecting the cluster connect feature of Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Prototype pollution vulnerability in beautify-web js-beautify 1.13.7 via the name variable in options.js. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Service Fabric Explorer Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
mfa/FIDO2.py in django-mfa2 before 2.5.1 and 2.6.x before 2.6.1 allows a replay attack that could be used to register another device for a user. 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.
lock order inversion in transitive grant copy handling As part of XSA-226 a missing cleanup call was inserted on an error handling path. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.6).
Arm: unbounded memory consumption for 2nd-level page tables Certain actions require e.g. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
P2M pool freeing may take excessively long The P2M pool backing second level address translation for guests may be of significant size. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in JTTK (All versions < V11.1.1.0), Simcenter Femap V2022.1 (All versions < V2022.1.3), Simcenter Femap V2022.2 (All versions < V2022.2.2). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in SICAM P850 (7KG8500-0AA00-0AA0) (All versions < V3.10), SICAM P850 (7KG8500-0AA00-2AA0) (All versions < V3.10), SICAM P850 (7KG8500-0AA10-0AA0) (All versions <. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in Desigo PXM30-1 (All versions < V02.20.126.11-41), Desigo PXM30.E (All versions < V02.20.126.11-41), Desigo PXM40-1 (All versions < V02.20.126.11-41), Desigo. 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 has been identified in Industrial Edge Management (All versions < V1.5.1). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in SIMATIC Drive Controller family (All versions < V2.9.2), SIMATIC ET 200SP Open Controller CPU 1515SP PC (incl. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in LOGO!. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in LOGO!. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in LOGO!. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An improper certification validation vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One agents could allow a local attacker to load a DLL file with system service privileges on affected installations. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An Out-of-Bounds access vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One could allow a local attacker to create a specially crafted message to cause memory corruption on a certain service process which could. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). This Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability could allow attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries.
IBM Sterling Partner Engagement Manager 2.0 does not invalidate session after logout which could allow an authenticated user to impersonate another user on the system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The Download Monitor WordPress plugin before 4.5.98 does not ensure that files to be downloaded are inside the blog folders, and not sensitive, allowing high privilege users such as admin to download. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The WP 2FA WordPress plugin before 2.3.0 uses comparison operators that don't mitigate time-based attacks, which could be abused to leak information about the authentication codes being compared. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the SSH implementation of Cisco IOS Software and Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the password-recovery disable feature of Cisco IOS XE ROM Monitor (ROMMON) Software for Cisco Catalyst Switches could allow an unauthenticated, local attacker to recover the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Slack Morphism is a modern client library for Slack Web/Events API/Socket Mode and Block Kit. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An exposure of resource to wrong sphere vulnerability [CWE-668] in FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager GUI 7.0.0 through 7.0.3, 6.4.0 through 6.4.8, 6.2.0 through 6.2.9, 6.0.0 through 6.0.11, 5.6.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Warpinator through 1.2.14 allows access outside of an intended directory, as demonstrated by symbolic directory links. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
mm/rmap.c in the Linux kernel before 5.19.7 has a use-after-free related to leaf anon_vma double reuse. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
ZoneMinder is a free, open source Closed-circuit television software application. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 does not invalidate session after logout which could allow an authenticated user to impersonate another user on the system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM InfoSphere Information Server 11.7 could allow an authenticated user to obtain sensitive information that should only be available to a privileged user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM QRadar SIEM 7.4 and 7.5 could disclose sensitive information via a local service to a privileged user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
IBM QRadar SIEM 7.4 and 7.5 data node rebalancing does not function correctly when using encrypted hosts which could result in information disclosure. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log in PushRegIdUpdateClient of SReminder prior to 8.2.01.13 allows attacker to access device IMEI. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Sensitive log information leakage vulnerability in Samsung Account prior to version 13.5.0 allows attackers to unauthorized logout. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper restriction of broadcasting Intent in ShareLive prior to version 13.2.03.5 leaks MAC address of the connected Bluetooth device. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Intent redirection vulnerability in Samsung Account prior to version 13.5.01.3 allows attackers to access content providers without permission. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Implicit intent hijacking vulnerability in UPHelper library prior to version 3.0.12 allows attackers to access sensitive information via implicit intent. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control vulnerability in imsservice application prior to SMR Oct-2022 Release 1 allows local attackers to access call information. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Exposure of sensitive information in AT_Distributor prior to SMR Oct-2022 Release 1 allows local attacker to access SerialNo via log. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper restriction of broadcasting Intent in MouseNKeyHidDevice prior to SMR Oct-2022 Release 1 leaks MAC address of the connected Bluetooth device. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache Airflow, prior to version 2.4.1, deactivating a user wouldn't prevent an already authenticated user from being able to continue using the UI or API. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The default privileges for the running service Normand Service Manager in Beckman Coulter Remisol Advance v2.0.12.1 and prior allows non-privileged users to overwrite and manipulate executables and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The default privileges for the running service Normand Remisol Advance Launcher in Beckman Coulter Remisol Advance v2.0.12.1 and prior allows non-privileged users to overwrite and manipulate. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CodeIgniter is a PHP full-stack web framework. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
It was possible to trigger an infinite recursion condition in the error handler when Hermes executed specific maliciously formed JavaScript. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Generex CS141 through 2.10 allows remote command execution by administrators via a web interface that reaches run_update in /usr/bin/gxserve-update.sh (e.g., command execution can occur via a reverse. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
IBM Robotic Process Automation 21.0.0, 21.0.1, 21.0.2, 21.0.3, and 21.0.4 is vulnerable to cross origin resource sharing using the bot api. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In certain Nedi products, a vulnerability in the web UI of NeDi login & Community login could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to affect the integrity of a device via a User Enumeration. 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.
Weak Password Requirements in GitHub repository ikus060/rdiffweb prior to 2.5.0a4. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
PJSIP is a free and open source multimedia communication library written in C. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
syslabs/sif is the Singularity Image Format (SIF) reference implementation. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Dex is an identity service that uses OpenID Connect to drive authentication for other apps. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
IBM Robotic Process Automation 21.0.0, 21.0.1, and 21.0.2 is vulnerable to man in the middle attacks through manipulation of the client proxy configuration. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
In affected versions of Octopus Server it was identified that the same encryption process was used for both encrypting session cookies and variables. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The default privileges for the running service Normand Message Buffer in Beckman Coulter Remisol Advance v2.0.12.1 and prior allows non-privileged users to overwrite and manipulate executables and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The default privileges for the running service Normand License Manager in Beckman Coulter Remisol Advance v2.0.12.1 and prior allows unprivileged users to overwrite and manipulate executables and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The default privileges for the running service Normand Viewer Service in Beckman Coulter Remisol Advance v2.0.12.1 and prior allows non-privileged users to overwrite and manipulate executables and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted PDF file when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 causes an unhandled exception. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Parsing a maliciously crafted X_B file can force Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 and 2022 to read beyond allocated boundaries. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain a memory leak in the AP4_AvcFrameParser::Feed function in mp4mux. 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.
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain a memory leak via the AP4_AtomFactory::CreateAtomFromStream function in mp4split. 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.
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation via the AP4_Processor::ProcessFragments function in mp4decrypt. 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.
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain a memory leak via the AP4_SttsAtom::Create function in mp42hls. 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.
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation in the mp4fragment component. 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.
Bento4 v1.6.0-639 was discovered to contain a memory leak via the AP4_Processor::Process function in the mp4encrypt binary. 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.
Dapr Dashboard v0.1.0 through v0.10.0 is vulnerable to Incorrect Access Control that allows attackers to obtain sensitive data. 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.
If folder security is misconfigured for Actian Zen PSQL BEFORE Patch Update 1 for Zen 15 SP1 (v15.11.005), Patch Update 4 for Zen 15 (v15.01.017), or Patch Update 5 for Zen 14 SP2 (v14.21.022), it. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the self-healing functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst Access Points could allow an authenticated, local attacker to escape the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Multiple vulnerabilities in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain elevated privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) of Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software for the Catalyst 9000 Family could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco SD-WAN Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to gain elevated privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.