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 (69632)
Improper caller check vulnerability in Knox Core prior to SMR MAY-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to install arbitrary app. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM QRadar Analyst Workflow App 1.0 through 1.18.0 for IBM QRadar SIEM allows web pages to be stored locally which can be read by another user on the system. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
E-Series SANtricity OS Controller Software 11.x versions prior to 11.70.1 are susceptible to a vulnerability which when successfully exploited could allow a remote attacker to discover system. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
E-Series SANtricity OS Controller Software 11.x versions prior to 11.70.1 are susceptible to a vulnerability which when successfully exploited could allow a remote attacker to discover information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
ripgrep before 13 on Windows allows attackers to trigger execution of arbitrary programs from the current working directory via the -z/--search-zip or --pre flag. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Inclusion of sensitive information in the source code has been reported to affect certain QNAP switches running QSS. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read vulnerability has been reported to affect certain QNAP switches running QSS. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
It was discovered that apport in data/apport did not properly open a report file to prevent hanging reads on a FIFO. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
It was discovered that the get_starttime() function in data/apport did not properly parse the /proc/pid/stat file from the kernel. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
It was discovered that the get_pid_info() function in data/apport did not properly parse the /proc/pid/status file from the kernel. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in JerryScript 2.4.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in JerryScript 2.4.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in JerryScript 2.4.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in JerryScript 2.4.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
On version 7.2.1.x before 7.2.1.3 and 7.1.x before 7.1.9.9 Update 1, the BIG-IP Edge Client Windows Installer Service's temporary folder has weak file and folder permissions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
On version 8.0.x before 8.0.0.1, and all 6.x and 7.x versions, the BIG-IQ Configuration utility has an authenticated remote command execution vulnerability in undisclosed pages. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
On version 7.2.1.x before 7.2.1.3 and 7.1.x before 7.1.9.9 Update 1, a DLL hijacking issue exists in cachecleaner.dll included in the BIG-IP Edge Client Windows Installer. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A missing permission check in Jenkins XebiaLabs XL Deploy Plugin 7.5.8 and earlier allows attackers with Overall/Read permission to connect to an attacker-specified URL using attacker-specified. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A missing permission check in Jenkins XebiaLabs XL Deploy Plugin 10.0.1 and earlier allows attackers with Overall/Read permission to enumerate credentials ID of credentials stored in Jenkins. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Jenkins Kubernetes CLI Plugin 1.10.0 and earlier does not perform permission checks in several HTTP endpoints, allowing attackers with Overall/Read permission to enumerate credentials IDs of. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Annex Cloud Loyalty Experience Platform <2021.1.0.1 allows any authenticated attacker to modify loyalty campaigns and settings, such as fraud prevention, coupon groups, email templates, or referrals. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An information exposure through log file vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud Compute Console where a secret used to authorize the role of the authenticated user is logged to a. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A ZTE product has an information leak vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus before version 11205 allows a remote, authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands with SYSTEM privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in CubeCoders AMP before 2.1.1.8. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Apache HTTP Server versions 2.4.39 to 2.4.46 Unexpected matching behavior with 'MergeSlashes OFF'. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The cli_feat_read_cb() function in src/gatt-database.c does not perform bounds checks on the 'offset' variable before using it as an index into an array for reading. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
lfs/backup in IPFire 2.25-core155 does not ensure that /var/ipfire/backup/bin/backup.pl is owned by the root account. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Use of cryptographically weak pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) in an API for the Intel(R) Security Library before version 3.3 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control in BlueZ may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure via adjacent access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Observable response discrepancy in some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authorized user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Observable response discrepancy in floating-point operations for some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authorized user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Observable timing discrepancy in Intel(R) IPP before version 2020 update 1 may allow authorized user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7).
Insecure inherited permissions in some Intel(R) ProSet/Wireless WiFi drivers may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure and denial of service via adjacent access. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability exists in gowitness < 2.3.6 that allows an unauthenticated attacker to perform an arbitrary file read using the file:// scheme in the url parameter to get an image of any file. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The vulnerability could expose cleartext credentials from AVEVA InTouch Runtime 2020 R2 and all prior versions (WindowViewer) if an authorized, privileged user creates a diagnostic memory dump of the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Under certain conditions, SAP Mobile SDK Certificate Provider allows a local unprivileged attacker to exploit an insecure temporary file storage. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources from an unintended security context.
Under certain conditions, the installation of SAP Business One, version - 10.0, discloses sensitive information on the file system allowing an attacker to access information which would otherwise be. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Under certain conditions SAP Enable Now (SAP Workforce Performance Builder - Manager), versions - 1.0, 10 allows an attacker to access information which would otherwise be restricted leading to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP NetWeaver ABAP Server and ABAP Platform (Enqueue Server), versions - KRNL32NUC - 7.22,7.22EXT, KRNL64NUC - 7.22,7.22EXT,7.49, KRNL64UC - 8.04,7.22,7.22EXT,7.49,7.53,7.73, KERNEL -. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Information Disclosure vulnerability in UserAdmin application in SAP NetWeaver Application Server for Java, versions - 7.11,7.20,7.30,7.31,7.40 and 7.50 allows attackers to access restricted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP NetWeaver ABAP Server and ABAP Platform (Enqueue Server), versions - KRNL32NUC - 7.22,7.22EXT, KRNL64NUC - 7.22,7.22EXT,7.49, KRNL64UC - 8.04,7.22,7.22EXT,7.49,7.53,7.73, KERNEL -. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP NetWeaver AS for ABAP (RFC Gateway), versions - KRNL32NUC - 7.22,7.22EXT, KRNL64NUC - 7.22,7.22EXT,7.49, KRNL64UC - 8.04,7.22,7.22EXT,7.49,7.53,7.73, KERNEL -. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
portlets/contact/ref/refContactDetail.do in Accela Civic Platform through 20.1 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a modified contactSeqNumber value. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Potential floating point value injection in all supported CPU products, in conjunction with software vulnerabilities relating to speculative execution with incorrect floating point results, may cause. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Potential speculative code store bypass in all supported CPU products, in conjunction with software vulnerabilities relating to speculative execution of overwritten instructions, may cause an. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
For Eclipse Jetty versions <= 9.4.40, <= 10.0.2, <= 11.0.2, it is possible for requests to the ConcatServlet with a doubly encoded path to access protected resources within the WEB-INF directory. 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.
The ATOM (ATOM - Smart life App for Android versions prior to 1.8.1 and ATOM - Smart life App for iOS versions prior to 1.8.2) does not verify server certificate properly, which allows. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control vulnerability in WSR-1166DHP3 firmware Ver.1.16 and prior and WSR-1166DHP4 firmware Ver.1.02 and prior allows an attacker to obtain configuration information via unspecified. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control vulnerability in goo blog App for Android ver.1.2.25 and earlier and for iOS ver.1.3.3 and earlier allows a remote attacker to lead a user to access an arbitrary website via. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft DWM Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Server for NFS Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Server for NFS Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Windows GPSVC Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Event Tracing for Windows Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft SharePoint Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Windows Bind Filter Driver Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows NTLM Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Windows NTFS Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Filter Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel-Mode Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft SharePoint Server Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
3D Viewer Information Disclosure Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft VsCode Kubernetes Tools Extension Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.2), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Microsoft Enhanced Cryptographic Provider Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.2), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Nextcloud Android is the Android client for the Nextcloud open source home cloud system. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
In VembuBDR before 4.2.0.1 and VembuOffsiteDR before 4.2.0.1, the http API located at /sgwebservice_o.php accepts a command argument. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting from 12.9.0 before 13.10.5, all versions starting from 13.11.0 before 13.11.5, all versions starting from 13.12.0 before. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
All versions of GitLab CE/EE starting from 9.5 before 13.10.5, all versions starting from 13.11 before 13.11.5, and all versions starting from 13.12 before 13.12.2 allow a high privilege user to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A cross-site leak vulnerability in the OAuth flow of all versions of GitLab CE/EE since 7.10 allowed an attacker to leak an OAuth access token by getting the victim to visit a malicious page with. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Seceon aiSIEM before 6.3.2 (build 585) is prone to an unauthenticated account takeover vulnerability in the Forgot Password feature. 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.
Dell EMC NetWorker, versions 18.x, 19.1.x, 19.2.x 19.3.x, 19.4, and 19.4.0.1 contain an Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability in the client (NetWorker Management Console) components which. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
Dell EMC NetWorker, 18.x, 19.1.x, 19.2.x 19.3.x, 19.4 and 19.4.0.1, contains an Information Disclosure vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
All versions of GitLab CE/EE starting from 12.8 before 13.10.5, all versions starting from 13.11 before 13.11.5, and all versions starting from 13.12 before 13.12.2 were affected by an issue in the. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
An information disclosure vulnerability in GitLab EE versions 13.11 and later allowed a project owner to leak information about the members' on-call rotations in other projects. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SSL Network Extender Client for Linux before build 800008302 reveals part of the contents of the configuration file supplied, which allows partially disclosing files to which the user did not have. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An attacker can modify the pointers in enclave memory to overwrite arbitrary memory addresses within the secure enclave. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An attacker can modify the address to point to trusted memory to overwrite arbitrary trusted memory. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An attacker can change the pointer to untrusted memory to point to trusted memory region which causes copying trusted memory to trusted memory, if the latter is later copied out, it allows for. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
ntpkeygen can generate keys that ntpd fails to parse. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Libgcrypt before 1.8.8 and 1.9.x before 1.9.3 mishandles ElGamal encryption because it lacks exponent blinding to address a side-channel attack against mpi_powm, and the window size is not chosen. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
WP-CLI is the command-line interface for WordPress. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
A flaw was found in the Foreman project. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect security UI in payments in Google Chrome on Android prior to 91.0.4472.77 allowed a remote attacker to perform domain spoofing via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Out of bounds read in V8 in Google Chrome prior to 91.0.4472.77 allowed a remote attacker to potentially exploit stack corruption via a crafted HTML page. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.