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 (67468)
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 12.6 versions up to 18.7.6 contains a security vulnerability (CVSS 4.3).
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 1.0 versions up to 18.7.6 is affected by use of incorrectly-resolved name or reference (CVSS 4.1).
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 15.6 versions up to 18.7.6 contains a security vulnerability (CVSS 4.3).
GitLab has remediated an issue in GitLab CE/EE affecting all versions from 15.5 versions up to 18.7.6 is affected by improper encoding or escaping of output (CVSS 2.2).
Easy Grade Pro 4.1.0.2 contains a file parsing logic flaw in the handling of proprietary .EGP gradebook files. By modifying specific fields at precise offsets within an otherwise valid .EGP file, an attacker can trigger an out-of-bounds memory read during parsing. [CVSS 3.3 LOW]
curl's HTTP proxy connection reuse mechanism fails to validate credential changes, allowing an attacker to intercept or manipulate traffic by leveraging an existing proxy connection established with different authentication. This affects users whose applications reuse proxy connections across requests with varying credentials, enabling credential confusion attacks. Public exploit code exists for this vulnerability, though a patch is available.
libcurl incorrectly reuses authenticated connections when processing Negotiate authentication requests, allowing an attacker with valid credentials to access resources authenticated under different user accounts. An authenticated attacker can exploit this connection pooling logic error to bypass authentication checks by reusing an existing connection that was authenticated with different credentials. This affects libcurl implementations using Negotiate authentication where multiple users access the same server.
An improper certificate validation vulnerability has been reported to affect Video Station. If an attacker gains local network access who have also gained an administrator account, they can then exploit the vulnerability to compromise the security of the system.
A flaw was found in Keycloak. An authenticated user with the view-users role could exploit a vulnerability in the UserResource component. [CVSS 2.7 LOW]
The Guest posting / Frontend Posting / Front Editor WordPress plugin before 5.0.6 exposes sensitive form data and settings through an unauthenticated URL parameter that regenerates JSON files, allowing attackers to download administrator email addresses and other configuration details. This vulnerability affects WordPress installations using the vulnerable plugin versions when admin notifications are enabled. No patch is currently available for this medium-severity information disclosure.
Default credentials in netbox-docker before 2.5.0.
Time-of-check time-of-use race condition in the UEFI PdaSmm module for some Intel(R) reference platforms may allow an information disclosure. System software adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable data exposure.
Exposure of resource to wrong sphere in the UEFI PdaSmm module for some Intel(R) reference platforms may allow an information disclosure. System software adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable data exposure.
Improper buffer restrictions in the UEFI DXE module for some Intel(R) Reference Platforms within UEFI may allow an information disclosure. System software adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable data exposure.
Authentication enforcement in Istio service mesh fails open: prior to 1.29.1, 1.28.5, and 1.27.8, when the JWKS resolver is unavailable or a key fetch fails, the proxy falls back to hardcoded defaults instead of denying the request, undermining JWT validation configured via the RequestAuthentication resource and exposing protected services to unauthorized access. The flaw (CWE-200, vendor CVSS 4.0 8.7) is remotely reachable without authentication, but is conditioned on a JWKS fetch failure. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, EPSS is very low (0.05%, 15th percentile), and it is not listed in CISA KEV.
Sigstore-ruby versions before 0.2.3 fail to properly validate artifact digests when verifying DSSE bundles with in-toto attestations, causing the library to incorrectly return successful verification even when the artifact does not match the attested subject. This allows attackers to bypass cryptographic verification controls and accept mismatched or tampered artifacts as valid. Organizations using sigstore-ruby for supply chain verification should upgrade to version 0.2.3 immediately, though no patch is currently available for other affected projects.
Alienbin is an anonymous code and text sharing web service. In 1.0.0 and earlier, the /save endpoint in server.js drops and recreates the MongoDB TTL index on the entire post collection for every new paste submission.
In VPU, there is a possible use-after-free read due to a race condition. This could lead to local information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed. [CVSS 2.9 LOW]
Android versions up to - contains a vulnerability that allows attackers to physical information disclosure with no additional execution privileges needed (CVSS 2.1).
Improper register protection in the PowerVR GPU on Android devices enables local attackers to read sensitive information without requiring special privileges or user interaction. This memory disclosure vulnerability affects Android systems and cannot currently be patched, leaving devices vulnerable to information leakage through direct GPU register access.
Git for Windows versions prior to 2.53.0(2) leak NTLM credential hashes when users clone from malicious servers, enabling password cracking attacks. The vulnerability requires user interaction (cloning from attacker-controlled repository) but needs no authentication from the attacker. EPSS score of 0.03% suggests low probability of mass exploitation, and no evidence of active exploitation or public POC exists at time of analysis. However, the simplicity of the attack (social engineering a git clone operation) and the high confidentiality impact (user credential theft) make this a priority for Windows-based development environments.
Microsoft Authenticator contains an information disclosure vulnerability that allows local attackers to access sensitive data without requiring elevated privileges or user interaction beyond standard operation. The vulnerability stems from improper categorization of security controls, enabling unauthorized disclosure of confidential information on affected systems. No patch is currently available for this issue.
Giflib's image processing functions are vulnerable to denial of service through a double-free memory corruption flaw triggered during shallow copy operations in GifMakeSavedImage with improper error handling. Local attackers with crafted image files can crash applications using affected Giflib versions, though exploitation requires specific and difficult-to-achieve conditions. No patch is currently available.
If the anti spam-captcha functionality in PluXml versions 5.8.22 and earlier is enabled, a captcha challenge is generated with a format that can be automatically recognized for articles, such that an automated script is able to solve this anti-spam mechanism trivially and publish spam comments. [CVSS 5.3 MEDIUM]
Aspera Orchestrator versions up to 4.1.2 contains a vulnerability that allows attackers to information disclosure if unauthorized parties have access to the URLs via serve (CVSS 5.9).
Code execution in Adobe Premiere Pro 25.5 and earlier via out-of-bounds read when processing malicious media files. An attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution within the user's security context by crafting a specially formatted file that triggers a memory read past allocated buffer boundaries. Exploitation requires the victim to open the malicious file, and no patch is currently available.
Out-of-bounds memory read in Substance 3D Painter 11.1.2 and earlier allows attackers to expose sensitive data from application memory. Exploitation requires a user to open a malicious file, making this a local attack vector dependent on social engineering. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
Out-of-bounds memory read in Substance 3D Painter 11.1.2 and earlier enables attackers to leak sensitive data from application memory when a user opens a specially crafted file. This local vulnerability requires user interaction but poses a meaningful confidentiality risk to designers and artists using affected versions. No patch is currently available.
Memory disclosure in Substance 3D Painter 11.1.2 and earlier allows attackers to read sensitive data from process memory through an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Exploitation requires user interaction, as victims must open a specially crafted malicious file. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. versions up to 2.3.1.5 is affected by out-of-bounds read (CVSS 6.1).
iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. versions up to 2.3.1.5 is affected by out-of-bounds read (CVSS 5.5).
iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. versions up to 2.3.1.5 is affected by out-of-bounds read (CVSS 5.5).
iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. versions up to 2.3.1.5 is affected by out-of-bounds read (CVSS 5.5).
iccDEV provides a set of libraries and tools for working with ICC color management profiles. versions up to 2.3.1.5 is affected by out-of-bounds read (CVSS 6.1).
The webauthn-lib PHP library before version 5.2.4 incorrectly validates origin restrictions by comparing only hostname components, allowing attackers to bypass authentication policies that rely on scheme or port differentiation. This enables an attacker to authenticate from origins that should be blocked, such as using HTTP instead of HTTPS or non-standard ports. Applications using this library with strict origin policies are affected until they upgrade to the patched version.
OneUptime prior to 10.0.21 has a third authorization bypass enabling low-privileged users to access admin functions.
FileBrowser versions prior to 1.3.1-beta and 1.2.2-stable leak authentication tokens through the /public/api/share/info endpoint, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass password protections on shared files. The vulnerability stems from an incomplete fix to CVE-2026-27611 and enables token disclosure that could facilitate unauthorized file access. No patch is currently available for affected installations.
Glances is an open-source system cross-platform monitoring tool. versions up to 4.5.1 is affected by information exposure.
SINEC Security Monitor versions before 4.9.0 expose sensitive metadata including contributor information and email addresses on the SSM Server, allowing authenticated attackers to obtain confidential data. The vulnerability requires valid credentials to exploit and poses a low-severity information disclosure risk with no availability or integrity impact.
Out-of-bounds read in .NET allows an unauthorized attacker to deny service over a network. [CVSS 7.5 HIGH]
Privilege escalation in SQL Server 2016-2025 stems from insufficient input validation, enabling authenticated network attackers to gain elevated permissions. The high CVSS score of 8.8 reflects complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, though no patch is currently available. Organizations running affected SQL Server versions should prioritize access controls and network segmentation until remediation is released.
Arbitrary code execution in Microsoft Office Excel and related products (Office Online Server, 365 Apps) via out-of-bounds memory read allows local attackers to achieve complete system compromise without requiring user interaction or elevated privileges. This high-severity vulnerability affects multiple Microsoft Office components and currently lacks a security patch. An attacker with local access can exploit memory corruption to execute malicious code with full system permissions.
Remote code execution in Microsoft SharePoint Server allows authenticated users to bypass input validation and execute arbitrary code across the network. This high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 8.8) affects authorized attackers who can leverage improper validation controls to achieve full system compromise. No patch is currently available, making immediate mitigation and access controls critical for affected organizations.
Fortinet FortiDeceptor versions 4.0 through 6.2.0 are vulnerable to argument injection that allows authenticated super-admin users with CLI access to delete sensitive files through crafted HTTP requests. The vulnerability requires high-level privileges and direct CLI access to exploit, limiting the attack surface to trusted administrators. No patch is currently available for this issue.
Windows Winlogon's failure to properly validate symbolic links before file access enables local privilege escalation on affected Windows Server and Windows 10/11 systems. An authenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated system privileges without user interaction. No patch is currently available for this high-severity issue affecting multiple Windows versions including Server 2025 and Windows 11 26h1.
Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information in Windows Accessibility Infrastructure (ATBroker.exe) affects Windows Server 2019, 2025, Windows 10 22h2, and Windows 11 25h2, allowing local authenticated attackers to read confidential data. The vulnerability requires user privileges and local access but poses no risk to system integrity or availability. No patch is currently available for this issue.
Windows Shell Link Processing leaks sensitive information over the network in Windows Server 2012, 2019, and 2022, enabling remote spoofing attacks without authentication or user interaction. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this information disclosure to conduct spoofing attacks against affected systems. No patch is currently available.
Information disclosure in Windows GDI+ affects Windows 11 (24h2, 25h2) and Windows Server 2012/2016, allowing unauthenticated attackers to read sensitive data remotely through an out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability. The flaw requires no user interaction and can be exploited over the network to compromise confidentiality without modifying system data or availability. No patch is currently available for this high-severity vulnerability.
Microsoft Graphics Component contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability affecting Windows 10 1607, Windows Server 2019, and 2022, enabling local attackers to read sensitive information from memory. The vulnerability requires user interaction and local access, posing a confidentiality risk without offering a currently available patch. Attack complexity is low, making it a practical concern for systems running affected Office and Windows versions.
Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock in Windows Server 2025, 2022, and Windows 10 1809 contains insufficient input validation that allows authenticated local users to escalate privileges. An attacker with local access and valid credentials can exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated system permissions, though no patch is currently available. This HIGH severity vulnerability affects multiple Windows Server and client versions with no active exploit mitigation path.
Privilege escalation in Windows Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) across Windows 11, Windows 10, and Windows Server platforms allows authenticated network attackers to gain elevated privileges by exploiting improper validation of resource naming restrictions. An attacker with valid domain credentials can leverage this vulnerability to escalate their access level without user interaction. Currently, no patch is available, leaving all affected Windows versions vulnerable.
Out-of-bounds read in Windows NTFS allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally. [CVSS 7.8 HIGH]
Windows Extensible File Allocation (exFAT) contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability affecting Windows Server 2022, Windows 10 1607, and Windows 11 versions 23h2/25h2, enabling authenticated local users to escalate privileges with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability requires local access and user-level privileges to exploit, with no patch currently available. This flaw carries a CVSS score of 7.8 and affects multiple supported Windows versions across server and client platforms.
Privilege escalation in Windows Device Association Service (Windows 10 versions 1607, 1809, and 21H2) stems from improper synchronization of shared resources, enabling local authenticated users to gain elevated system privileges. The vulnerability requires high attack complexity and no user interaction, making it exploitable by insiders or compromised local accounts. No patch is currently available.
Privilege escalation in Windows Device Association Service across Windows 10, 11, and Server 2022 stems from improper synchronization of shared resources, enabling local authenticated users to gain elevated system privileges. The vulnerability requires local access and specific timing conditions but poses high risk due to its impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No patch is currently available.
Privilege escalation in Windows Accessibility Infrastructure (ATBroker.exe) across Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server 2022 stems from improper permission assignments on a critical resource. A local authenticated attacker can exploit this misconfiguration to gain elevated privileges without user interaction. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
Windows Kernel path traversal vulnerability in Server 2025, Server 2022, Windows 11 24h2, and Windows 10 22h2 enables authenticated local attackers to achieve full system compromise through privilege escalation. The flaw allows an authorized user to manipulate file name or path parameters, bypassing access controls and gaining kernel-level privileges. No patch is currently available.
Windows Push Message Routing Service contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that enables authenticated local users to access sensitive information on affected systems running Windows 10 and Windows 11. The vulnerability requires valid credentials to exploit and poses a confidentiality risk, though no patch is currently available. This affects multiple Windows versions including 21H2, 22H2, and 23H2 releases.
Windows ReFS contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability affecting Server 2019, 2022, 2025, and Windows 11 26h1 that enables authenticated local users to escalate privileges with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability requires low attack complexity and no user interaction, making it exploitable by any authenticated user on the system. No patch is currently available for this HIGH severity issue.
Windows Universal Disk Format File System Driver (UDFS) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability [CVSS 7.8 HIGH]
Privilege escalation in the Windows Bluetooth RFCOM Protocol Driver across Windows 11 26h1, Windows Server 2025, and Windows 10 1809 stems from improper synchronization of concurrent access to shared resources. An authenticated local attacker can exploit this race condition to gain elevated privileges on affected systems. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tls: Fix race condition in tls_sw_cancel_work_tx() This issue was discovered during a code audit.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: espintcp: Fix race condition in espintcp_close() This issue was discovered during a code audit.
Eaton EasySoft project files use weak encryption vulnerable to brute force attacks, allowing local attackers with file access to extract sensitive information and modify project configurations. An authenticated user on the affected system can exploit this weakness to compromise confidentiality and integrity of stored data. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
HCL Sametime for Android is impacted by a sensitive information disclosure. Hostnames information is written in application logs and certain URL [CVSS 3.3 LOW]
Privilege escalation in System Center Operations Manager via improper input validation enables authenticated network-based attackers to gain elevated system permissions. An attacker with valid credentials can exploit this weakness to compromise administrative access without user interaction. No patch is currently available for this high-severity vulnerability affecting System Center Operations Manager deployments.
Rejected reason: ** REJECT ** DO NOT USE THIS CANDIDATE NUMBER. No vendor patch available.
An unauthenticated remote attacker who tricks a user to upload a manipulated HTML file can get access to sensitive information on the device. This is a result of incorrect permission assignment for the web server. [CVSS 6.5 MEDIUM]
An unauthenticated remote attacker can use firmware images to extract password hashes and brute force plaintext passwords of accounts with limited access. [CVSS 5.3 MEDIUM]
CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability exists that could cause information disclosure and remote code execution when SOCKS Proxy is enabled, and administrator credentials and PostgreSQL database credentials are known. SOCKS Proxy is disabled by default.
Shescape is a simple shell escape library for JavaScript. versions up to 2.1.9 is affected by information exposure.
Unauthorized access to Database Analyzer Log Files in SAP NetWeaver Application Server for ABAP allows authenticated users to read sensitive database logs through an unprotected RFC function module. An attacker with standard user privileges and access to execute the affected module can bypass authorization checks to disclose confidential information, though system integrity and availability remain unaffected. No patch is currently available to remediate this authorization bypass vulnerability.
Booktic versions up to 1.0.16. is affected by missing authentication for critical function (CVSS 5.3).
IBM Planning Analytics Advanced Certified Containers 3.1.0 versions up to 3.1.4 contains a vulnerability that allows attackers to a local privileged user to obtain sensitive information from environment variabl (CVSS 4.4).
High severity vulnerability in ImageMagick. An integer overflow in DIB coder can result in out of bounds read or write
Heap over-read in ImageMagick's MAT decoder prior to versions 7.1.2-16 and 6.9.13-41 results from incorrect arithmetic parenthesization, allowing remote attackers to leak sensitive memory contents and cause denial of service through crafted MAT image files. The vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction and affects systems using vulnerable ImageMagick versions for image processing. No patch is currently available, leaving users dependent on upgrading to patched versions when released.
High severity vulnerability in ImageMagick. An uninitialized pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the JBIG decoder due to a missing check.
ScadaBR 1.12.4 is vulnerable to Session Fixation. The application assigns a JSESSIONID session cookie to unauthenticated users and does not regenerate the session identifier after successful authentication. [CVSS 4.8 MEDIUM]
A security vulnerability has been detected in open-webu versions up to 0.6.16. is affected by cryptographic issues (CVSS 3.7).
Unsafe path handling in NLTK's filestring() function enables attackers to read arbitrary files on affected iOS and AI/ML systems through improper input validation. An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this over the network by supplying directory traversal or absolute paths to access sensitive data, with particular risk in deployments exposing the function through web APIs. No patch is currently available for this high-severity vulnerability (CVSS 8.6).
An incorrect access control vulnerability exists in Tenda W15E V02.03.01.26_cn. [CVSS 7.5 HIGH]
An issue pertaining to CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information was discovered in lesspass lesspass v9.6.9 which allows attackers to obtain sensitive information. [CVSS 6.5 MEDIUM]
An issue pertaining to CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information was discovered in Nexusoft NexusInterface v3.2.0-beta.2. [CVSS 7.5 HIGH]
Inclusion of functionality from untrusted control sphere in Miazzy oa-front-service allows executing code from untrusted sources.
An issue pertaining to CWE-532: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File was discovered in LupinLin1 jimeng-web-mcp v2.1.2. This allows an attacker to obtain sensitive information. [CVSS 5.3 MEDIUM]
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/xattr: missing fdput() in fremovexattr error path In the Linux kernel, the fremovexattr() syscall calls fdget() to acquire a file reference but returns early without calling fdput() when strncpy_from_user() fails on the name argument.
Domain spoofing in Focus for iOS versions prior to 148.2 allows remote attackers to display malicious content under trusted domain names through navigation stalling and iframe redirection techniques, without requiring user interaction beyond the initial page load. An attacker can leverage this to conduct phishing attacks or distribute misleading content by presenting spoofed trusted domains in the browser UI. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.
Improper GPU system call handling in the DDK allows non-privileged users to bypass memory protections on user-mode wrapped memory regions and gain unauthorized write access. An attacker with local access could exploit this to modify read-only memory structures, potentially compromising system integrity or escalating privileges. No patch is currently available for this medium-severity vulnerability.
The rtsol(8) and rtsold(8) programs do not validate the domain search list options provided in router advertisement messages; the option body is passed to resolvconf(8) unmodified. resolvconf(8) is a shell script which does not validate its input. [CVSS 7.2 HIGH]
AWS Airflow Providers with Auth Manager fail to validate SAML response origins against the actual instance URL, allowing attackers with valid credentials from one instance to authenticate to other instances with potentially different access controls. This cross-instance authentication bypass requires low privileges and network access but does not directly compromise confidentiality or integrity. Users should upgrade to version 9.22.0 or later to remediate this vulnerability.