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 (69522)
A vulnerability has been identified in Capital Embedded AR Classic 431-422 (All versions), Capital Embedded AR Classic R20-11 (All versions < V2303). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in Capital Embedded AR Classic 431-422 (All versions), Capital Embedded AR Classic R20-11 (All versions < V2303), PLUSCONTROL 1st Gen (All versions), SIMOTICS. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in Capital Embedded AR Classic 431-422 (All versions), Capital Embedded AR Classic R20-11 (All versions < V2303), PLUSCONTROL 1st Gen (All versions). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in Capital Embedded AR Classic 431-422 (All versions), Capital Embedded AR Classic R20-11 (All versions < V2303), PLUSCONTROL 1st Gen (All versions), SIMOTICS. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
neoan3-apps/template is a neoan3 minimal template engine. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The Simple Download Monitor WordPress plugin before 3.9.6 saves logs in a predictable location, and does not have any authentication or authorisation in place to prevent unauthenticated users to. 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.
EnroCrypt is a Python module for encryption and hashing. 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.
Apostrophe CMS versions prior to 3.3.1 did not invalidate existing login sessions when disabling a user account or changing the password, creating a situation in which a device compromised by a third. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
ESET was made aware of a vulnerability in its consumer and business products for macOS that enables a user logged on to the system to stop the ESET daemon, effectively disabling the protection of the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Go before 1.16.10 and 1.17.x before 1.17.3 allows an archive/zip Reader.Open panic via a crafted ZIP archive containing an invalid name or an empty filename field. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
lpar2rrd is a hardcoded system account in XoruX LPAR2RRD and STOR2RRD before 7.30. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A password mismanagement situation exists in XoruX LPAR2RRD and STOR2RRD before 7.30 because cleartext information is present in HTML password input fields in the device properties. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Barrier before 2.3.4. 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 issue was discovered in Barrier before 2.4.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Hitachi Vantara Pentaho through 9.1 and Pentaho Business Intelligence Server through 7.x. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Hitachi Vantara Pentaho through 9.1 and Pentaho Business Intelligence Server through 7.x. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in GNU Hurd before 0.9 20210404-9. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in GNU Hurd before 0.9 20210404-9. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. Public exploit code available.
Cradlepoint IBR900-600 devices running versions < 7.21.10 are vulnerable to a restricted shell escape sequence that provides an attacker the capability to simultaneously deny availability to the. 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.
@sap-cloud-sdk/core contains the core functionality of the SAP Cloud SDK as well as the SAP Business Technology Platform abstractions. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. 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.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Meross Smart Wi-Fi 2 Way Wall Switch (MSS550X), on its 3.1.3 version and before, creates an open Wi-Fi Access Point without the required security measures in its initial setup. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. 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.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
TensorFlow is an open source platform for machine learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in FusionPBX before 4.5.30. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
An issue was discovered in FusionPBX before 4.5.30. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in FusionPBX before 4.5.30. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
An attacker could prepare a specially crafted project file that, if opened, would attempt to connect to the cloud and trigger a man in the middle (MiTM) attack. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
The affected product is vulnerable to cookie information being transmitted as cleartext over HTTP. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
vim is vulnerable to Use of Uninitialized Variable. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
A SQL injection vulnerability exists in Sourcecodester Engineers Online Portal in PHP via the id parameter to the announcements_student.php web page. 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.
A SQL Injection vulnerability exists in Sourcecodester Engineers Online Portal in PHP via the id parameter in the my_classmates.php web page.. 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.
A SQL Injection vulnerability exists in Sourcecodester Online Event Booking and Reservation System in PHP in event-management/views. 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.
A SQL Injection vulnerability exists in Sourcecodester Engineers Online Portal in PHP via the id parameter to quiz_question.php, which could let a malicious user extract sensitive data from the web. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A missing input validation in Samsung Flow Windows application prior to Version 4.8.5.0 allows attackers to overwrite abtraty file in the Windows known folders. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Intent redirection vulnerability in Group Sharing prior to 10.8.03.2 allows attacker to access contact information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A missing input validation in HDCP LDFW prior to SMR Nov-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to overwrite TZASC allowing TEE compromise. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Accidental logging of system root password in the migration log in all versions of GitLab CE/EE before 14.2.6, all versions starting from 14.3 before 14.3.4, and all versions starting from 14.4. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper access control flaw in all versions of GitLab CE/EE starting from 13.9 before 14.2.6, all versions starting from 14.3 before 14.3.4, and all versions starting from 14.4 before 14.4.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An information disclosure vulnerability in the GitLab CE/EE API since version 8.9.6 allows a user to see basic information on private groups that a public project has been shared with. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In all versions of GitLab CE/EE since version 11.10, an admin of a group can see the SCIM token of that group by visiting a specific endpoint. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In all versions of GitLab CE/EE since version 10.6, a project export leaks the external webhook token value which may allow access to the project which it was exported from. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control in GitLab CE/EE version 10.5 and above allowed subgroup members with inherited access to a project from a parent group to still have access even after the subgroup is. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In all versions of GitLab CE/EE since version 8.0, an attacker can set the pipeline schedules to be active in a project export so when an unsuspecting owner imports that project, pipelines are active. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in gatt-database.c in BlueZ 5.61. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), 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.
In all versions of GitLab CE/EE since version 13.0, a privileged user, through an API call, can change the visibility level of a group or a project to a restricted option even after the instance. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Crypto++ (aka Cryptopp) 8.6.0 and earlier contains a timing leakage in MakePublicKey(). 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.
In iconvdata/iso-2022-jp-3.c in the GNU C Library (aka glibc) 2.34, remote attackers can force iconv() to emit a spurious '\0' character via crafted ISO-2022-JP-3 data that is accompanied by an. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel before 5.14.15. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
JupyterHub is an open source multi-user server for Jupyter notebooks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Jenkins 2.318 and earlier, LTS 2.303.2 and earlier allows any agent to read and write the contents of any build directory stored in Jenkins with very few restrictions. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
FilePath#listFiles lists files outside directories that agents are allowed to access when following symbolic links in Jenkins 2.318 and earlier, LTS 2.303.2 and earlier. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Creating symbolic links is possible without the 'symlink' agent-to-controller access control permission in Jenkins 2.318 and earlier, LTS 2.303.2 and earlier. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
FilePath#unzip and FilePath#untar were not subject to any agent-to-controller access control in Jenkins 2.318 and earlier, LTS 2.303.2 and earlier. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
File path filters in the agent-to-controller security subsystem of Jenkins 2.318 and earlier, LTS 2.303.2 and earlier do not canonicalize paths, allowing operations to follow symbolic links to. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the account activation feature of Cisco Webex Meetings could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to send an account activation email with an activation link that points to an. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the web-based dashboard of Cisco Umbrella could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to perform an email enumeration attack against the Umbrella infrastructure. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the key-based SSH authentication mechanism of Cisco Policy Suite could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system as the root user. 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 web-based management interface of Cisco Common Services Platform Collector (CSPC) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to access sensitive data on an affected system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM), Cisco Unified Communications Manager Session Management Edition (Unified CM SME), Cisco. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Path Traversal vulnerability could allow attackers to access files and directories outside the intended path.
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in PC Worx Automation Suite of Phoenix Contact up to version 1.88 could allow an attacker with a manipulated project file to unpack arbitrary files outside of. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in Snow Snow Agent for Windows allows a non-admin user to cause arbitrary deletion of files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Delta Electronics DIALink versions 1.2.4.0 and prior stores sensitive information in cleartext, which may allow an attacker to have extensive access to the application directory and escalate. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Delta Electronics DIALink versions 1.2.4.0 and prior default permissions give extensive permissions to low-privileged user accounts, which may allow an attacker to modify the installation directory. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Delta Electronics DIALink versions 1.2.4.0 and prior runs by default on HTTP, which may allow an attacker to be positioned between the traffic and perform a machine-in-the-middle attack to access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Delta Electronics DIALink versions 1.2.4.0 and prior insecurely loads libraries, which may allow an attacker to use DLL hijacking and takeover the system where the software is installed. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The parse function in llhttp < 2.1.4 and < 6.0.6. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
A stack-based buffer under-read in htmldoc before 1.9.12, allows attackers to cause a denial of service via a crafted BMP image to image_load_bmp. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in accepting socket connections in Apache Traffic Server allows an attacker to make the server stop accepting new connections.0.0 to 9.1.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Improper Input Validation vulnerability in header parsing of Apache Traffic Server allows an attacker to smuggle requests.0.0 to 8.1.2 and 9.0.0 to 9.1.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Improper input validation vulnerability in header parsing of Apache Traffic Server allows an attacker to smuggle requests.0.0 to 8.1.2 and 9.0.0 to 9.0.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Improper input validation vulnerability in header parsing of Apache Traffic Server allows an attacker to smuggle requests.0.0 to 8.1.2 and 9.0.0 to 9.1.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
With an admin account, the .htaccess file in Artica Pandora FMS <=755 can be overwritten with the File Manager component. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In Mahara before 20.04.5, 20.10.3, 21.04.2, and 21.10.0, the account associated with a web services token is vulnerable to being exploited and logged into, resulting in information disclosure (at a. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor [CWE-200] vulnerability in FortiManager 7.0.1 and below, 6.4.6 and below, 6.2.x, 6.0.x, 5.6.0 may allow a FortiGate user to see scripts. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.