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 (69763)
In FreeRDP less than or equal to 2.0.0, when running with logger set to "WLOG_TRACE", a possible crash of application could occur due to a read of an invalid array index. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In FreeRDP less than or equal to 2.0.0, a possible resource exhaustion vulnerability can be performed. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Android App 'kintone mobile for Android' 1.0.0 to 2.5 allows an attacker to obtain credential information registered in the product via unspecified vectors. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Android App 'Mailwise for Android' 1.0.0 to 1.0.1 allows an attacker to obtain credential information registered in the product via unspecified vectors. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Initialization of the pcoip_credential_provider in Teradici PCoIP Standard Agent for Windows and PCoIP Graphics Agent for Windows versions 19.11.1 and earlier creates an insecure named pipe, which. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Dell Dock Firmware Update Utilities for Dell Client Consumer and Commercial docking stations contain an Arbitrary File Overwrite vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0). No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by Missing SSL Certificate Validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information when a detailed technical error message is returned in the browser. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 could allow an unauthorized user to obtain sensitive information through user enumeration. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to set the secure flag for the session cookie in SSL mode. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 could allow an attacker to enumerate usernames to find valid login credentials which could be used to attempt further attacks against the. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
In QEMU 5.0.0 and earlier, megasas_lookup_frame in hw/scsi/megasas.c has an out-of-bounds read via a crafted reply_queue_head field from a guest OS user. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.2), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
testserver.cgi of the web service on VIVOTEK Network Cameras before XXXXX-VVTK-2.2002.xx.01x (and before XXXXX-VVTK-0XXXX_Beta2) allows an authenticated user to obtain arbitrary files from a camera's. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In GNOME glib-networking through 2.64.2, the implementation of GTlsClientConnection skips hostname verification of the server's TLS certificate if the application fails to specify the expected server. 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.
In Anchore Engine version 0.7.0, a specially crafted container image manifest, fetched from a registry, can be used to trigger a shell escape flaw in the anchore engine analyzer service during an. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
In AEgir greater than or equal to 21.7.0 and less than 21.10.1, aegir publish and aegir build may leak secrets from environment variables in the browser bundle published to npm. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Centreon before 19.10.7 exposes Session IDs in server responses. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SQLite before 3.32.0 allows a virtual table to be renamed to the name of one of its shadow tables, related to alter.c and build.c. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
ext/fts3/fts3.c in SQLite before 3.32.0 has a use-after-free in fts3EvalNextRow, related to the snippet feature. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
sd_wp_addr in hw/sd/sd.c in QEMU 4.2.0 uses an unvalidated address, which leads to an out-of-bounds read during sdhci_write() operations. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.4 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.4 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 Spectrum Scale 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.4 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.4 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
IBM MobileFirst Platform Foundation 8.0.0.0 stores highly sensitive information in URL parameters. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), 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.
In SmartDraw 2020 27.0.0.0, the installer gives inherited write permissions to the Authenticated Users group on the SmartDraw 2020 installation folder. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A race condition was found in the mkhomedir tool shipped with the oddjob package in versions before 0.34.5 and 0.34.6 wherein, during the home creation, mkhomedir copies the /etc/skel directory into. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3).
The boost ASIO wrapper in net/asio.cpp in Pichi before 1.3.0 lacks TLS hostname verification. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
lib/QoreSocket.cpp in Qore before 0.9.4.2 lacks hostname verification for X.509 certificates. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
An issue was discovered in ssl.c in Axel before 2.17.8. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
For native-to-JS bridging, the app requires a unique token to be passed that ensures non-app code can't call the bridging functions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Firefox content processes did not sufficiently lockdown access control which could result in a sandbox escape. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Firefox content processes did not sufficiently lockdown access control which could result in a sandbox escape. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic flaw in our location bar implementation could have allowed a local attacker to spoof the current location by selecting a different origin and removing focus from the input element. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in Undertow in versions before 2.1.1.Final, regarding the processing of invalid HTTP requests with large chunk sizes. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in the Linux kernels SELinux LSM hook implementation before version 5.7, where it incorrectly assumed that an skb would only contain a single netlink message. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
qmail-verify as used in netqmail 1.06 is prone to an information disclosure vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
EM-HTTP-Request 1.1.5 uses the library eventmachine in an insecure way that allows an attacker to perform a man-in-the-middle attack against users of the library. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
ffjpeg through 2020-02-24 has a heap-based buffer over-read in jfif_decode in jfif.c. 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.
ffjpeg through 2020-02-24 has an invalid read in jfif_encode in jfif.c. 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.
The XCloner component before 3.5.4 for Joomla!. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Elevation of Privilege issue was discovered in Aviatrix VPN Client before 2.10.7, because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2020-7224. 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.
An issue was discovered in Aviatrix Controller before 5.4.1204. 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.
By encoding Unicode whitespace characters within the From email header, an attacker can spoof the sender email address that Thunderbird displays. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An issue was discovered in FreeRDP before 2.1.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), 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.
An issue was discovered in FreeRDP before 2.1.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability could allow attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries.
meinheld prior to 1.0.2 is vulnerable to HTTP Request Smuggling. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This HTTP Request/Response Smuggling vulnerability could allow attackers to manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers.
In Puma (RubyGem) before 4.3.5 and 3.12.6, a client could smuggle a request through a proxy, causing the proxy to send a response back to another unknown client. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Puma (RubyGem) before 4.3.4 and 3.12.5, an attacker could smuggle an HTTP response, by using an invalid transfer-encoding header. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This HTTP Request/Response Smuggling vulnerability could allow attackers to manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers.
An exploitable authentication bypass vulnerability exists in the ESPON Web Control functionality of Epson EB-1470Ui MAIN: 98009273ESWWV107 MAIN2: 8X7325WWV303. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) when the Feedback extension improperly validates input, aka 'Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Elevation of Privilege. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An information disclosure vulnerability exists when the Windows GDI component improperly discloses the contents of its memory, aka 'Windows GDI Information Disclosure Vulnerability'. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A spoofing vulnerability exists in Microsoft Power BI Report Server in the way it validates the content-type of uploaded attachments, aka 'Microsoft Power BI Report Server Spoofing Vulnerability'. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Clipboard Service, aka 'Windows Clipboard Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Clipboard Service, aka 'Windows Clipboard Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) driver improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) handles objects in memory, allowing an attacker to retrieve information from a targeted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Windows kernel-mode driver fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka 'Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows GDI Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An information disclosure vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) handles objects in memory, allowing an attacker to retrieve information from a targeted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when DirectX improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'DirectX Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Storage Service improperly handles file operations, aka 'Windows Storage Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way the Windows Push Notification Service handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Push Notification Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Graphics Component improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Graphics Component Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows Error Reporting manager improperly handles file and folder links, aka 'Windows Error Reporting Manager Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Runtime improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows State Repository Service improperly handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows State Repository Service Elevation of Privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Clipboard Service, aka 'Windows Clipboard Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An information disclosure vulnerability exists when the Windows Client Server Run-Time Subsystem (CSRSS) fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka 'Windows CSRSS Information Disclosure. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka 'Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.