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 (69302)
LRM version 2.4 and lower does not implement TLS encryption. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
LRM does not implement authentication or authorization by default. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
LRM utilizes elevated privileges. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A CWE-668 Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere vulnerability exists that could cause users to be misled, hiding alarms, showing the wrong server connection option or the wrong control request when a. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In multiple CODESYS products, file download and upload function allows access to internal files in the working directory e.g. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In multiple CODESYS products, a low privileged remote attacker may craft a request, which cause an out-of-bounds read, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In multiple CODESYS products, a remote attacker may craft a request which may cause an unexpected sign extension, resulting in a denial-of-service condition or memory overwrite. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In multiple CODESYS products, a low privileged remote attacker may craft a request that cause a read access to an uninitialized pointer, resulting in a denial-of-service. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In CODESYS V2 PLCWinNT and Runtime Toolkit 32 in versions prior to V2.4.7.57 password protection is not enabled by default and there is no information or prompt to enable password protection at login. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In the CODESYS Development System multiple components in multiple versions transmit the passwords for the communication between clients and servers unprotected. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In CODESYS Gateway Server V2 for versions prior to V2.3.9.38 only a part of the the specified password is been compared to the real CODESYS Gateway password. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Multiple products of CODESYS implement a improper error handling. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds Read in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
In tinyexr 1.0.1, there is a heap-based buffer over-read in tinyexr::DecodePixelData. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
There is a heap-based buffer over-read in libdwarf 0.4.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
The NT auth module in OpenAM before 14.6.6 allows a "replace Samba username attack.". Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
totd before 1.5.3 does not properly randomize mesg IDs. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Jenkins Squash TM Publisher (Squash4Jenkins) Plugin 1.0.0 and earlier stores passwords unencrypted in its global configuration file on the Jenkins controller where they can be viewed by users with. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Jenkins EasyQA Plugin 1.0 and earlier stores user passwords unencrypted in its global configuration file on the Jenkins controller where they can be viewed by users with access to the Jenkins. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Jenkins Convertigo Mobile Platform Plugin 1.1 and earlier stores passwords unencrypted in job config.xml files on the Jenkins controller where they can be viewed by users with Extended Read. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Jenkins xUnit Plugin 3.0.8 and earlier implements an agent-to-controller message that creates a user-specified directory if it doesn't exist, and parsing files inside it as test results, allowing. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Jenkins 2.335 through 2.355 (both inclusive) allows attackers in some cases to bypass a protection mechanism, thereby directly accessing some view fragments containing sensitive information,. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Jenkins 2.355 and earlier, LTS 2.332.3 and earlier, an observable timing discrepancy on the login form allows distinguishing between login attempts with an invalid username, and login attempts. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insecure permissions in OneBlog v2.3.4 allows low-level administrators to reset the passwords of high-level administrators who hold greater privileges. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The function that calls the diff tool in Diffy 3.4.1 does not properly handle double quotes in a filename when run in a windows environment. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Redis v7.0 was discovered to contain a memory leak via the component streamGetEdgeID. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
LibreDWG v0.12.4.4608 was discovered to contain a double-free via the function dwg_read_file at dwg.c. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
LibreDWG v0.12.4.4608 was discovered to contain a heap-use-after-free via the function dwg_add_handleref at dwg.c. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
LibreDWG v0.12.4.4608 was discovered to contain a heap-use-after-free via the function decode_preR13_section at decode_r11.c. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Pure Storage FlashArray products running Purity//FA 6.2.0 - 6.2.3, 6.1.0 - 6.1.12, 6.0.0 - 6.0.8, 5.3.0 - 5.3.17, 5.2.x and prior Purity//FA releases, and Pure Storage FlashBlade products running. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the logging component of Cisco Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to view sensitive information in clear text on an affected. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A Observable Response Discrepancy vulnerability in spacewalk-java of SUSE Manager Server 4.1, SUSE Manager Server 4.2 allows remote attackers to discover valid usernames. 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.
discourse-chat is a chat plugin for the Discourse application. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authenticated attacker could read arbitrary files from the underlying operating system of the scanner using a custom crafted compliance audit file without providing any valid SSH credentials. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted PDF file may be used to dereference a pointer for read or write operation while parsing PDF files in Autodesk Navisworks 2022. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted TIFF file in Autodesk AutoCAD 2023 can be forced to read and write beyond allocated boundaries when parsing the TIFF file. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource vulnerability in ABB REX640 PCL1, REX640 PCL2, REX640 PCL3 allows an authenticated attacker to launch an attack against the user database file. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The UserTakeOver plugin before 4.0.1 for ILIAS allows an attacker to list all users via the search function. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Hyland Onbase Application Server releases prior to 20.3.58.1000 and OnBase releases 21.1.1.1000 through 21.1.15.1000 are vulnerable to a username enumeration vulnerability. 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 vulnerability has been identified in Cerberus DMS (All versions), Desigo CC (All versions), Desigo CC Compact (All versions), SIMATIC WinCC OA V3.16 (All versions in default configuration), SIMATIC. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Nginx NJS v0.7.2 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation in the function njs_vmcode_interpreter at src/njs_vmcode.c. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Nginx NJS v0.7.2 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation in the function njs_string_offset at src/njs_string.c. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Nginx NJS v0.7.2 was discovered to contain a segmentation violation in the function njs_array_convert_to_slow_array at src/njs_array.c. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An unauthenticated, remote attacker could upload malicious logic to the devices based on ProConOS/ProConOS eCLR in order to gain full control over the device. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An unauthenticated, remote attacker could upload malicious logic to devices based on ProConOS/ProConOS eCLR in order to gain full control over the device. 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.
IBM Robotic Process Automation 21.0.2 could allow a local user to obtain sensitive web service configuration credentials from system memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
IBM Curam Social Program Management 8.0.0 and 8.0.1 does not invalidate session after logout which could allow an authenticated user to impersonate another user on the system. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Curam Social Program Management 8.0.0 and 8.0.1 does not invalidate session after logout which could allow an authenticated user to impersonate another user on the system. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs in GitHub repository polonel/trudesk prior to 1.2.4. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Out-of-bounds Read in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
The got package before 12.1.0 (also fixed in 11.8.5) for Node.js allows a redirect to a UNIX socket. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
netgear wnap320 router WNAP320_V2.0.3_firmware is vulnerable to Incorrect Access Control via /recreate.php, which can leak all users cookies. 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.
All versions of package fast-string-search are vulnerable to Out-of-bounds Read due to incorrect memory freeing and length calculation for any non-string input as the source. 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.
All versions of package querymen are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution if the parameters of exported function handler(type, name, fn) can be controlled by users without any sanitization. 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.
This affects all versions of package mout. 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.
An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the License registration functionality of Bachmann Visutec GmbH Atvise 3.5.4, 3.6 and 3.7. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
IBM Robotic Process Automation 20.10.0, 20.12.5, 21.0.0, 21.0.1, and 21.0.2 contains a vulnerability that could allow a user to obtain sensitive information due to information properly masked in the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), 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.
Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File in GitHub repository inventree/inventree prior to 0.7.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
ASG technologies ( A Rocket Software Company) ASG-Zena Cross Platform Server Enterprise Edition 4.2.1 is vulnerable to Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in a Cookie. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was found on TRENDnet TEW-831DR 1.0 601.130.1.1356 devices. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CA Automic Automation 12.2 and 12.3 contain an entropy weakness vulnerability in the Automic AutomationEngine that could allow a remote attacker to potentially access sensitive data. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CA Automic Automation 12.2 and 12.3 contain an insecure input handling vulnerability in the Automic Agent that could allow a remote attacker to potentially enumerate users. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CA Automic Automation 12.2 and 12.3 contain an insecure file creation and handling vulnerability in the Automic agent that could allow a user to potentially elevate privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CA Automic Automation 12.2 and 12.3 contain an insecure memory handling vulnerability in the Automic agent that could allow a remote attacker to potentially access sensitive data. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CA Clarity 15.8 and below and 15.9.0 contain an insecure XML parsing vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker to potentially view the contents of any file on the system. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Temporary disruption of the ADM license service. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ImageMagick, there is load of misaligned address for type 'double', which requires 8 byte alignment and for type 'float', which requires 4 byte alignment at MagickCore/property.c. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability was found in ImageMagick, causing an outside the range of representable values of type 'unsigned long' at coders/pcl.c, when crafted or untrusted input is processed. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Integer Overflow vulnerability could allow attackers to cause unexpected behavior through arithmetic overflow.
A vulnerability was found in ImageMagick, causing an outside the range of representable values of type 'unsigned char' at coders/psd.c, when crafted or untrusted input is processed. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Integer Overflow vulnerability could allow attackers to cause unexpected behavior through arithmetic overflow.
Adobe InCopy versions 17.2 (and earlier) and 16.4.1 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue in dlt_config_file_parser.c of dlt-daemon v2.18.8 allows attackers to cause a double free via crafted TCP packets. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A maliciously crafted TIF file can be forced to read beyond allocated boundaries in Autodesk 3ds Max 2022, and 2021 when parsing the TIF files. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
VMware HCX update addresses an information disclosure vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Weak Password Requirements in GitHub repository kromitgmbh/titra prior to 0.78.1. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in V-Server v4.0.11.0 and earlier and V-Server Lite v4.0.13.0 and earlier, which may allow an attacker to obtain information and/or execute arbitrary code by. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the simulator module contained in the graphic editor 'V-SFT' versions prior to v6.1.6.0, which may allow an attacker to obtain information and/or execute. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Windows Autopilot Device Management and Enrollment Client Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
.NET and Visual Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Sensitive Information vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive data that should not be disclosed.
Azure RTOS GUIX Studio Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Office Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Office Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kerberos Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft Office Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft File Server Shadow Copy Agent Service (RVSS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0).
Windows Desired State Configuration (DSC) Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.