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 (69539)
Microsoft Excel Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Bind Filter Driver Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Installer Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Rich Text Edit Control Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Windows exFAT File System Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Fast FAT File System Driver Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Print Spooler Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Windows HTTP.sys Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0).
Integer Underflow in 6LoWPAN IPHC Header Uncompression in Zephyr. 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.
Redmine before 4.1.5 and 4.2.x before 4.2.3 may disclose the names of users on activity views due to an insufficient access filter. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Electron is a framework for writing cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Data Risk Manager 2.0.6 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by an authenticated user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Data Risk Manager (iDNA) 2.0.6 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. No vendor patch available.
The Scheduler Connection component of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Rest API component of TIBCO Software Inc.'s TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server, TIBCO JasperReports Server - Community. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Puma is a HTTP 1.1 server for Ruby/Rack applications. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. This HTTP Request/Response Smuggling vulnerability could allow attackers to manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers.
The vulnerability in SolarWinds Pingdom can be described as a failure to invalidate user session upon password or email address change. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7). No vendor patch available.
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform (Crystal Reports) - versions 420, 430, allows an unauthenticated attacker to exploit missing XML validations at endpoints to read sensitive data. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP BusinessObjects Analysis (edition for OLAP) - versions 420, 430, allows an attacker to exploit certain application endpoints to read sensitive data. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP Internet Communication framework (ICM) - versions 700, 701, 702, 730, 731, 740, 750, 751, 752, 753, 754, 755, 756, 785, allows an attacker with logon functionality, to exploit the authentication. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Debug function of Admin UI of SAP Business One Integration is enabled by default. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The software logistics system of SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP and ABAP Platform versions - 700, 701, 702, 710, 730, 731, 740, 750, 751, 752, 753, 754, 755, 756, enables a malicious user to transfer ABAP. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
LibreOffice supports digital signatures of ODF documents and macros within documents, presenting visual aids that no alteration of the document occurred since the last signing and that the signature. 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 SINEC NMS (All versions < V1.0 SP2 Update 1). 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.
An authenticated Apache Traffic Control Traffic Ops user with Portal-level privileges can send a request with a specially-crafted email subject to the /deliveryservices/request Traffic Ops endpoint. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
All versions of package config-handler are vulnerable to Prototype Pollution when loading config files. 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.
check_smart before 6.9.1 allows unintended drive access by an unprivileged user because it only checks for a substring match of a device path (the /dev/bus substring and a number), aka an unanchored. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in aspeed_lpc_ctrl_mmap in drivers/soc/aspeed/aspeed-lpc-ctrl.c in the Linux kernel before 5.14.6. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
keypair is a a RSA PEM key generator written in javascript. 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.
A flaw was found in postgresql. 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.
NetApp Cloud Manager versions prior to 3.9.10 are susceptible to a vulnerability which could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to retrieve sensitive data via the web proxy. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A potential security vulnerability has been identified in HPE 3PAR StoreServ, HPE Primera Storage and HPE Alletra 9000 Storage array firmware. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
LibreOffice supports digital signatures of ODF documents and macros within documents, presenting visual aids that no alteration of the document occurred since the last signing and that the signature. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Telus Wi-Fi Hub (PRV65B444A-S-TS) with firmware version 3.00.20 is vulnerable to an authenticated arbitrary file read. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.0). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Projectsend version r1295 is affected by sensitive information disclosure. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
/way4acs/enroll in OpenWay WAY4 ACS before 1.2.278-2693 allows unauthenticated attackers to leverage response differences to discover whether a specific payment card number is stored in the system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
It is possible for an attacker to manipulate documents to appear to be signed by a trusted source. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
It is possible for an attacker to manipulate the timestamp of signed documents. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
It is possible for an attacker to manipulate signed documents and macros to appear to come from a trusted source. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The ReplaceText extension through 1.41 for MediaWiki has Incorrect Access Control. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
In “Orchard core CMS” application, versions 1.0.0-beta1-3383 to 1.0.0 are vulnerable to an improper session termination after password change. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Out of bounds read in libjpeg-turbo in Google Chrome prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. 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.
Inappropriate implementation in Background Fetch API in Google Chrome prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker to leak cross-origin data via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Background Fetch API in Google Chrome prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to leak cross-origin data via a crafted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Compositing in Google Chrome on Android prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker to spoof the contents of the Omnibox (URL bar) via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Background Fetch API in Google Chrome prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker to leak cross-origin data via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in ChromeOS Networking in Google Chrome on ChromeOS prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed an attacker with a rogue wireless access point to to potentially carryout a wifi. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Side-channel information leakage in DevTools in Google Chrome prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker to bypass site isolation via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Blink in Google Chrome prior to 93.0.4577.82 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to leak cross-origin data via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Type confusion in Blink layout in Google Chrome prior to 93.0.4577.82 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit heap corruption via a crafted HTML page. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Container 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 could disclose sensitive information to a local user when it is configured to use an IBM Cloud API key to connect to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise through 1.7.4 and 1.8.3 allowed a user with write permission to an entity alias ID sharing a mount accessor with another user to acquire this other user’s. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in postgresql. 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.
In Digi RealPort through 4.10.490, authentication relies on a challenge-response mechanism that gives access to the server password, making the protection ineffective. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A local attacker could read or write arbitrary files with administrator privileges in HitmanPro before version Build 318. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 4.1.1. 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 Zammad before 4.1.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 4.1.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 4.1.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Sterling B2B Integrator Standard Edition 5.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 could allow an authneticated attacker to obtain sensitive information from configuration files that could aid in further attacks. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM Sterling File Gateway 2.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 could allow a remote attacker to upload arbitrary files, caused by improper access controls. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Sterling File Gateway 6.0.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information when a detailed technical error message is returned in the browser. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM Sterling File Gateway User Interface 2.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 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.
IBM Sterling File Gateway 2.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 could allow an authenticated attacker to enumerate usernames due to there being an observable discrepancy in returned messages. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM Sterling File Gateway 2.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 could allow an authenticated user to intercept and replace a message sent by another user due to improper access controls. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM Sterling File Gateway 2.2.0.0 through 6.1.1.0 could allow a remote authenticated user to cause a denial of another user's service due to insufficient permission checking. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Integria IMS login check uses a loose comparator ("==") to compare the MD5 hash of the password provided by the user and the MD5 hash stored in the database. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Meross MSG100 devices before 3.2.3 allow an attacker to replay the same data or similar data (e.g., an attacker who sniffs a Close message can transmit an acceptable Open message). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In LCOS 10.40 to 10.42.0473-RU3 with SNMPv3 enabled on LANCOM devices, changing the password of the root user via the CLI does not change the password of the root user for SNMPv3 access. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
ACCEL-PPP 1.12.0 has an out-of-bounds read in triton_context_schedule if the client exits after authentication. 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.
When Octopus Tentacle is installed using a custom folder location, folder ACLs are not set correctly and could lead to an unprivileged user using DLL side-loading to gain privileged access. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When Octopus Server is installed using a custom folder location, folder ACLs are not set correctly and could lead to an unprivileged user using DLL side-loading to gain privileged access. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Jenkins 2.314 and earlier, LTS 2.303.1 and earlier accepts names of jobs and other entities with a trailing dot character, potentially replacing the configuration and data of other entities on. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the API endpoints for Cisco DNA Center could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain access to sensitive information that should be restricted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco Business 220 Series Smart Switches firmware could allow an attacker with Administrator privileges to access sensitive login credentials or reconfigure the passwords. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Multiple vulnerabilities in Cisco Business 220 Series Smart Switches firmware could allow an attacker with Administrator privileges to access sensitive login credentials or reconfigure the passwords. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the debug shell of Cisco IP Phone software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to read any file on the device file system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the web-based management interface of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to obtain sensitive information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Scrapy is a high-level web crawling and scraping framework for Python. 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.
IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW1010 could allow a privileged user to gain access to another VM due to assigning duplicate WWPNs. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The IBM TS7700 Management Interface is vulnerable to unauthenticated access. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A possible buffer overflow vulnerability in libSPenBase library of Samsung Notes prior to Samsung Note version 4.3.02.61 allows arbitrary code execution. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Lack of boundary checking of a buffer in libSPenBase library of Samsung Notes prior to Samsung Note version 4.3.02.61 allows OOB read. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Assuming radio permission is gained, missing input validation in modem interface driver prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 results in format string bug leading to kernel panic. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Lack of boundary checking of a buffer in recv_data() of modem interface driver prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows OOB read. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Lack of boundary checking of a buffer in set_skb_priv() of modem interface driver prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows OOB read and it results in arbitrary code execution by dereference of invalid. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Exposure of information vulnerability in ipcdump prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows an attacker detect device information via analyzing packet in log. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Lack of boundary checking of a buffer in livfivextractor library prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows OOB read. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.