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 (69508)
SAS/Intrnet 9.4 build 1520 and earlier allows Local File Inclusion. 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.
Team Password Manager (aka TeamPasswordManager) before 10.135.236 allows password-reset poisoning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in ImageMagick where it did not properly sanitize certain input before using it to invoke convert processes. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is 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.
OpenSource Moddable v10.5.0 was discovered to contain buffer over-read in the fxDebugThrow function at /moddable/xs/sources/xsDebug.c. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In versions of Greenplum database prior to 5.28.14 and 6.17.0, certain statements execution led to the storage of sensitive(credential) information in the logs of the database. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
In versions of Greenplum database prior to 5.28.6 and 6.14.0, greenplum database contains a file path traversal vulnerability leading to information disclosure from the file system. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The “WPO365 | LOGIN” WordPress plugin (up to and including version 15.3) by wpo365.com is vulnerable to a persistent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability (also known as Stored or Second-Order. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Adobe Audition version 14.2 (and earlier) is affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An HTTP request smuggling in web application in ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000, RT-AX3000, RT-AX55, RT-AX56U, RT-AX56U_V2, RT-AX58U, RT-AX82U, RT-AX82U GUNDAM EDITION, RT-AX86 Series(RT-AX86U/RT-AX86S),. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache Ozone before 1.2.0, Recon HTTP endpoints provide access to OM, SCM and Datanode metadata. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache Ozone before 1.2.0, Ozone Datanode doesn't check the access mode parameter of the block token. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache Ozone versions prior to 1.2.0, Initially generated block tokens are persisted to the metadata database and can be retrieved with authenticated users with permission to the key. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Functions SDK for EdgeX is meant to provide all the plumbing necessary for developers to get started in processing/transforming/exporting data out of the EdgeX IoT platform. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
GCC c++filt v2.26 was discovered to contain a use-after-free vulnerability via the component cplus-dem.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.
Improper privilege validation vulnerability in COM Interface of Gallagher Command Centre Server allows authenticated unprivileged operators to retrieve sensitive information from the Command Centre. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper certificate validation vulnerability in SMTP Client allows man-in-the-middle attack to retrieve sensitive information from the Command Centre Server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Improper validation of the cloud certificate chain in Mobile Connect allows man-in-the-middle attack to impersonate the legitimate Command Centre Server. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Improper validation of the cloud certificate chain in Mobile Client allows man-in-the-middle attack to impersonate the legitimate Command Centre Server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Acrobat Animate versions 21.0.9 (and earlier)is affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been detected in HyperLedger Fabric v1.4.0, v2.0.0, v2.0.1, v2.3.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This HTTP Request/Response Smuggling vulnerability could allow attackers to manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers.
It was discovered that Kibana’s JIRA connector & IBM Resilient connector could be used to return HTTP response data on internal hosts, which may be intentionally hidden from public view. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insecure Boot Image vulnerability in Hitachi Energy Relion Relion 670/650/SAM600-IO series allows an attacker who manages to get access to the front network port and to cause a reboot sequences of. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was divered in Puppet Enterprise and other Puppet products where sensitive plan parameters may be logged. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was discovered in Continuous Delivery for Puppet Enterprise (CD4PE) that results in a user with lower privileges being able to access a Puppet Enterprise API token. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was discovered in Puppet Agent and Puppet Server that may result in a leak of HTTP credentials when following HTTP redirects to a different host. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Browser app, there is a possible information disclosure due to a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In apusys, 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 apusys, 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 apusys, 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 flv extractor, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a heap buffer overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In asf extractor, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an integer overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In asf extractor, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a heap buffer overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In asf extractor, there is a possible out of bounds read due to an integer overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In asf extractor, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a heap buffer overflow. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ape extractor, 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.
The Ignition component before 1.16.15, and 2.0.x before 2.0.6, for Laravel has a "fix variable names" feature that can lead to incorrect access control. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Metabase is an open source data analytics platform. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
The OCI Distribution Spec project defines an API protocol to facilitate and standardize the distribution of content. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type (Type Confusion) vulnerability could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting type confusion in the application.
Uncontrolled resource consumption in the Intel(R) HAXM software before version 7.6.6 may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.2), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insertion of information into log file in firmware for some Intel(R) SSD DC may allow a privileged user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper input validation in software for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi and Killer(TM) WiFi in Windows 10 may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable denial of service or information. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper initialization in firmware for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi and Killer(TM) WiFi in Windows 10 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure via adjacent. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A remote attacker with write access to PI Vision could inject code into a display. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An use-after-free vulnerability was discovered in gocr through 0.53-20200802 in context_correction() in pgm2asc.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.
IBM AIX 7.1, 7.2, and VIOS 3.1 could allow a non-privileged local user to exploit a vulnerability in EFS to expose sensitive information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.2), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM AIX 7.1, 7.2, and VIOS 3.1 could allow a non-privileged local user to exploit a vulnerability in the libc.a library to expose sensitive information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.2), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Zoho Remote Access Plus Server Windows Desktop Binary fixed from 10.1.2121.1 is affected by incorrect access control. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Zoho Remote Access Plus Server Windows Desktop Binary fixed in 10.1.2132.6 is affected by a sensitive information disclosure vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor vulnerability in FortiOS CLI 7.0.0, 6.4.0 through 6.4.6, 6.2.0 through 6.2.9, 6.0.x and 5.6.x may allow a local and authenticated user. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SchedMD Slurm 21.08.* before 21.08.4 has Incorrect Access Control. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Ubuntu-specific modifications to accountsservice (in patch file debian/patches/0010-set-language.patch) caused the fallback_locale variable, pointing to static storage, to be freed, in the. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Adobe Bridge version 11.1.1 (and earlier) is affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted SGI file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insufficient DRAM address validation in System Management Unit (SMU) may result in a DMA read from invalid DRAM address to SRAM resulting in SMU not servicing further requests. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insufficient validation of guest context in the SNP Firmware could lead to a potential loss of guest confidentiality. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Failure to validate SEV Commands while SNP is active may result in a potential impact to memory integrity. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Interior Server and Gateway Server components of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO PartnerExpress contain an easily exploitable vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Failure to validate VM_HSAVE_PA during SNP_INIT may result in a loss of memory integrity. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Persistent platform private key may not be protected with a random IV leading to a potential “two time pad attack”. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Failure to flush the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) of the I/O memory management unit (IOMMU) may lead an IO device to write to memory it should not be able to access, resulting in a potential. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM MQ 7.5, 8.0, 9.0 LTS, 9.1 CD, and 9.1 LTS stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
IBM Spectrum Scale 5.1.0 through 5.1.1.1 could allow a privileged admin to destroy filesystem audit logging records before expiration time. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In ArangoDB, versions v3.7.6 through v3.8.3 are vulnerable to Insufficient Session Expiration. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Discourse is a platform for community discussion. 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.
An out-of-bounds heap read in Busybox's unlzma applet leads to information leak and denial of service when crafted LZMA-compressed input is decompressed. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
rails_multisite provides multi-db support for Rails applications. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), 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.
Grafana is an open-source platform for monitoring and observability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 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.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 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.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information when a detailed technical error message is returned in the browser. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 uses a one-way cryptographic hash against an input that should not be reversible, such as a password, but the software does not also use a. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 does not set the secure attribute on authorization tokens or session cookies. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerability could allow attackers to obtain user credentials due to weak protection mechanisms.
IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 could allow an authenticated user to to obtain sensitive information from a specially crafted HTTP request. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The parser in accepts requests with a space (SP) right after the header name before the colon. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in the fruity crate through 0.2.0 for Rust. 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 Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability exists when reading a DXF file using Open Design Alliance Drawings SDK before 2022.11. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability exists in the OBJ file reading procedure in Open Design Alliance Drawings SDK before 2022.11. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in the U3D file reading procedure in Open Design Alliance PRC SDK before 2022.10. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability exists in Open Design Alliance ODA Viewer before 2022.8. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability exists in the DGN file reading procedure in Open Design Alliance Drawings SDK before 2022.11. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability exists in Open Design Alliance ODA Viewer sample before 2022.11. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In WIBU CodeMeter Runtime before 7.30a, creating a crafted CmDongles symbolic link will overwrite the linked file without checking permissions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The npm ci command in npm 7.x and 8.x through 8.1.3 proceeds with an installation even if dependency information in package-lock.json differs from package.json. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
json-schema is vulnerable to Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes ('Prototype Pollution'). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Dell EMC PowerScale OneFS versions 9.1.0, 9.2.0.x, 9.2.1.x contain an Exposure of Information through Directory Listing vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper access control vulnerability was reported in some Motorola-branded Binatone Hubble Cameras which could allow an unauthenticated attacker on the same network as the device to access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Some device communications in some Motorola-branded Binatone Hubble Cameras with backend Hubble services are not encrypted which could lead to the communication channel being accessible by an. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An information disclosure vulnerability was reported in some Motorola-branded Binatone Hubble Cameras that could allow an unauthenticated attacker on the same subnet to download an encrypted log file. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An information disclosure vulnerability was reported in some Motorola-branded Binatone Hubble Cameras that could allow an attacker with physical access to obtain the encryption key used to decrypt. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.