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 (69731)
Cleartext transmission of sensitive information vulnerability in DDNS in Synology Router Manager (SRM) before 1.2.4-8081 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to eavesdrop authentication information of. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Cleartext transmission of sensitive information vulnerability in DDNS in Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) before 6.2.3-25426-2 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to eavesdrop authentication. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Algorithm downgrade vulnerability in QuickConnect in Synology Router Manager (SRM) before 1.2.4-8081 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Algorithm downgrade vulnerability in QuickConnect in Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) before 6.2.3-25426-2 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Synology Router Manager (SRM) before 1.2.4-8081 does not set the Secure flag for the session cookie in an HTTPS session, which makes it easier for remote attackers to capture this cookie by. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) before 6.2.3-25426-2 does not set the Secure flag for the session cookie in an HTTPS session, which makes it easier for remote attackers to capture this cookie by. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Improper certificate validation vulnerability in OpenVPN client in Synology Router Manager (SRM) before 1.2.4-8081 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Improper certificate validation vulnerability in OpenVPN client in Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) before 6.2.3-25426-2 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
This affects the package chart.js before 2.9.4. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30, contain a vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which the Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) algorithm used in the JSOL package. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30, contain a vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which it uses a hard-coded RC4 cipher key, which may lead to information disclosure. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all DGX-1 with BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30 and all DGX-2 with BMC firmware versions prior to 1.06.06, contain a vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which default. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all DGX-1 with BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30 and all DGX-2 with BMC firmware versions prior to 1.06.06, contains a vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which software. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, DGX-1 with BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all DGX-1 with BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30, contains a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which the web application does not. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all DGX-1 with BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30, contains a vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which an attacker with administrative privileges can obtain the hash of. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
NVIDIA DGX servers, all DGX-1 with BMC firmware versions prior to 3.38.30 and all DGX-2 with BMC firmware versions prior to 1.06.06, contains a vulnerability in the AMI BMC firmware in which the. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
CyberArk Privileged Session Manager (PSM) 10.9.0.15 allows attackers to discover internal pathnames by reading an error popup message after two hours of idle time. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Gophish through 0.10.1 does not invalidate the gophish cookie upon logout. 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.
Gophish before 0.11.0 allows the creation of CSV sheets that contain malicious content. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Citadel WebCit through 926 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to enumerate valid users within the platform. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A Weak Session Management vulnerability in Citadel WebCit through 926 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to hijack recently logged-in users' sessions. 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.
The God Kings application 0.60.1 for Android exposes a broadcast receiver to other apps called com.innogames.core.frontend.notifications.receivers.LocalNotificationBroadcastReceiver. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Dual DHCP DNS Server 7.40. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Home DNS Server 0.10. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Issues were discovered in Open DHCP Server (Regular) 1.75 and Open DHCP Server (LDAP Based) 0.1Beta. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Issues were discovered in Open TFTP Server multithreaded 1.66 and Open TFTP Server single port 1.66. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Winston 1.5.4 devices have a CORS configuration that trusts arbitrary origins. 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.
Winston 1.5.4 devices have an SSH user account with access from bastion hosts. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
IBM Sterling Connect Direct for Microsoft Windows 4.7, 4.8, 6.0, and 6.1 could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service, caused by a buffer over-read. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R9 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to perform an arbitrary file reading vulnerability is fixed using encrypted URL. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 could allow the attacker to perform a MITM Attack if end users are convinced to connect to a malicious server. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 allows a restricted user on an endpoint machine can use system-level privileges if the Embedded Browser is configured with Credential. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When performing EC scalar point multiplication, the wNAF point multiplication algorithm was used; which leaked partial information about the nonce used during signature generation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SonicWall Global VPN client version 4.10.4.0314 and earlier allows unprivileged windows user to elevate privileges to SYSTEM through loaded process hijacking vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved checks to prevent unauthorized actions. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A trust issue was addressed by removing a legacy API. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved checks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue existed in the parsing of URLs. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved checks This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.4, Security Update 2020-002 Mojave, Security Update 2020-002 High Sierra. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue existed with Siri Suggestions access to encrypted data. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An access issue was addressed with improved access restrictions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on Ubiquiti UniFi Meshing Access Point UAP-AC-M 4.3.21.11325 and UniFi Controller 6.0.28 devices. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This affects the package npm-user-validate before 1.0.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Check Point ZoneAlarm before version 15.8.139.18543 allows a local actor to delete arbitrary files while restoring files in Anti-Ransomware. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in beta versions of the 1Password command-line tool prior to 0.5.5 and in beta versions of the 1Password SCIM bridge prior to 0.7.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Pulse Secure Desktop Client 9.0Rx before 9.0R5 and 9.1Rx before 9.1R4 on Windows reveals users' passwords if Save Settings is enabled. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A RemoteFunctions endpoint with missing access control in konzept-ix publiXone before 2020.015 allows attackers to disclose sensitive user information, send arbitrary e-mails, escalate the privileges. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
konzept-ix publiXone before 2020.015 allows attackers to download files by iterating over the IXCopy fileID parameter. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
konzept-ix publiXone before 2020.015 allows attackers to take over arbitrary user accounts by crafting password-reset tokens. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
libtac in pam_tacplus through 1.5.1 lacks a check for a failure of RAND_bytes()/RAND_pseudo_bytes(). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read in the JavaScript Interpreter in Facebook Hermes prior to commit 8cb935cd3b2321c46aa6b7ed8454d95c75a7fca0 allows attackers to cause a denial of service attack or possible. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A Denial of Service condition in Motion-Project Motion 3.2 through 4.3.1 allows remote unauthenticated users to cause a webu.c segmentation fault and kill the main process via a crafted HTTP request. 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 KDE Partition Manager 4.1.0 before 4.2.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
The HPE BlueData EPIC Software Platform version 4.0 and HPE Ezmeral Container Platform 5.0 use an insecure method of handling sensitive Kerberos passwords that is susceptible to unauthorized. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A remote execution of arbitrary commandss vulnerability was discovered in Aruba Airwave Software version(s): Prior to 1.3.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A remote execution of arbitrary commands vulnerability was discovered in Aruba Airwave Software version(s): Prior to 1.3.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Arista EOS before 4.21.12M, 4.22.x before 4.22.7M, 4.23.x before 4.23.5M, and 4.24.x before 4.24.2F allows remote attackers to cause traffic loss or incorrect forwarding of traffic via a malformed. 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.
pathval before version 1.1.1 is vulnerable to prototype pollution. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
NVIDIA GeForce Experience, all versions prior to 3.20.5.70, contains a vulnerability in the ShadowPlay component which may lead to local privilege escalation, code execution, denial of service or. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
NVIDIA GeForce Experience, all versions prior to 3.20.5.70, contains a vulnerability in NVIDIA Web Helper NodeJS Web Server in which an uncontrolled search path is used to load a node module, which. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
VMware Horizon Client for Windows (5.x prior to 5.5.0) contains an information disclosure vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
OX App Suite through 7.10.3 allows Information Exposure because a user can obtain the IP address and User-Agent string of a different user (via the session API during shared Drive access). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Parse Server (npm package parse-server) broadcasts events to all clients without checking if the session token is valid. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Velero (prior to 1.4.3 and 1.5.2) in some instances doesn’t properly manage volume identifiers which may result in information leakage to unauthorized users. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When a link to an external protocol was clicked, a prompt was presented that allowed the user to choose what application to open it in. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
If a valid external protocol handler was referenced in an image tag, the resulting broken image size could be distinguished from a broken image size of a non-existent protocol handler. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue has been discovered in GitLab Runner affecting all versions starting from 13.4.0 before 13.4.2, all versions starting from 13.3.0 before 13.3.7, all versions starting from 13.2.0 before. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
An information disclosure issue was addressed with improved state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A path handling issue was addressed with improved validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A file access issue existed with certain home folder files. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved checks. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.4). No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue existed within the path validation logic for symlinks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
admin/src/containers/InputModalStepperProvider/index.js in Strapi before 3.2.5 has unwanted /proxy?url= functionality. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An issue existed within the path validation logic for symlinks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved entitlements. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A certificate validation issue existed when processing administrator added certificates. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.