Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-521

Allowed

Weak Password Requirements

Abstraction: Base · Status: Draft

API response cwe.mitre.org

The product does not require that users should have strong passwords.

359 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.

GHSA-9V8J-2F6R-7842

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-12-15 21:30 – Updated: 2022-12-20 03:30
VLAI
Details

Beijing Zed-3 Technologies Co.,Ltd VoIP simpliclty ASG 8.5.0.17807 (20181130-16:12) has a Weak password vulnerability.

Severity
9.8 (Critical)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2022-44236"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2022-12-15T19:15:00Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "Beijing Zed-3 Technologies Co.,Ltd VoIP simpliclty ASG 8.5.0.17807 (20181130-16:12) has a Weak password vulnerability.",
  "id": "GHSA-9v8j-2f6r-7842",
  "modified": "2022-12-20T03:30:28Z",
  "published": "2022-12-15T21:30:30Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-44236"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/liong007/Zed-3/issues/2"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-C38H-5GMX-RF6H

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-08-23 00:00 – Updated: 2022-08-27 00:00
VLAI
Details

Tabit - password enumeration. Description: Tabit - password enumeration. The passwords for the Tabit system is a 4 digit OTP. One can resend OTP and try logging in indefinitely. Once again, this is an example of OWASP: API4 - Rate limiting.

Severity
8.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2022-34772"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2022-08-22T15:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "Tabit - password enumeration. Description: Tabit - password enumeration. The passwords for the Tabit system is a 4 digit OTP. One can resend OTP and try logging in indefinitely. Once again, this is an example of OWASP: API4 - Rate limiting.",
  "id": "GHSA-c38h-5gmx-rf6h",
  "modified": "2022-08-27T00:00:51Z",
  "published": "2022-08-23T00:00:17Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-34772"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.gov.il/en/departments/faq/cve_advisories"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-C54C-X29C-V3W9

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 22:00 – Updated: 2022-12-02 21:30
VLAI
Details

IBM PureApplication System 2.2.3.0 through 2.2.5.3 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 159417.

Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2019-4235"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2019-06-26T15:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "IBM PureApplication System 2.2.3.0 through 2.2.5.3 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 159417.",
  "id": "GHSA-c54c-x29c-v3w9",
  "modified": "2022-12-02T21:30:44Z",
  "published": "2022-05-24T22:00:11Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-4235"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/159417"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ibm10885602"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-C563-X35J-VFW8

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-06-02 00:00 – Updated: 2022-06-09 00:00
VLAI
Details

Dell PowerScale OneFS versions 8.2.0.x through 9.3.0.x, contain a weak password requirement vulnerability. An administrator may create an account with no password. A remote attacker may potentially exploit this leading to a user account compromise.

Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Show details on source website
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2022-29098"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2022-06-01T15:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "Dell PowerScale OneFS versions 8.2.0.x through 9.3.0.x, contain a weak password requirement vulnerability. An administrator may create an account with no password. A remote attacker may potentially exploit this leading to a user account compromise.",
  "id": "GHSA-c563-x35j-vfw8",
  "modified": "2022-06-09T00:00:16Z",
  "published": "2022-06-02T00:00:24Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-29098"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000200128/dsa-2022-082-dell-emc-powerscale-onefs-security-update?lang=en"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-CFHV-8246-QFW8

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2024-03-08 00:33 – Updated: 2024-08-01 15:31
VLAI
Details

Arris SBG6580 devices have predictable default WPA2 security passwords that could lead to unauthorized remote access. (They use the first 6 characters of the SSID and the last 6 characters of the BSSID, decrementing the last octet.)

Severity
8.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show details on source website
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2024-25729"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2024-03-08T00:15:50Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "Arris SBG6580 devices have predictable default WPA2 security passwords that could lead to unauthorized remote access. (They use the first 6 characters of the SSID and the last 6 characters of the BSSID, decrementing the last octet.)",
  "id": "GHSA-cfhv-8246-qfw8",
  "modified": "2024-08-01T15:31:30Z",
  "published": "2024-03-08T00:33:39Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-25729"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/actuator/cve/blob/main/Arris/CVE-2024-25729"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/actuator/cve/blob/main/Arris/SBG6580.png"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/DhoAAOSwx0FbhhcN/s-l1600.jpg"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/z2oAAOSwO1pbQ9BS/s-l1600.jpg"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-CFWP-MMQM-9VRH

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-01-19 21:33 – Updated: 2026-01-30 18:31
VLAI
Details

HCL AION  version 2 is affected by a Weak Password Policy vulnerability. This can  allow the use of easily guessable passwords, potentially resulting in unauthorized access

Severity
3.1 (Low)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2025-55252"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-01-19T19:16:02Z",
    "severity": "LOW"
  },
  "details": "HCL AION\u00a0 version 2 is affected by a Weak Password Policy vulnerability. This can \u00a0allow the use of easily guessable passwords, potentially resulting in unauthorized access",
  "id": "GHSA-cfwp-mmqm-9vrh",
  "modified": "2026-01-30T18:31:13Z",
  "published": "2026-01-19T21:33:11Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55252"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://support.hcl-software.com/kb_view.do?sys_kb_id=4b92474633de7ad4159a05273e5c7b4b\u0026searchTerm=kb0127995#"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-CG6H-X49R-X24F

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-09-14 21:30 – Updated: 2024-04-04 07:41
VLAI
Details

I-doit pro 25 and below and I-doit open 25 and below employ weak password requirements for Administrator account creation. Attackers are able to easily guess users' passwords via a bruteforce attack.

Severity
9.8 (Critical)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show details on source website
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{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2023-37756"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2023-09-14T21:15:10Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "I-doit pro 25 and below and I-doit open 25 and below employ weak password requirements for Administrator account creation. Attackers are able to easily guess users\u0027 passwords via a bruteforce attack.",
  "id": "GHSA-cg6h-x49r-x24f",
  "modified": "2024-04-04T07:41:18Z",
  "published": "2023-09-14T21:30:26Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-37756"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/leekenghwa/CVE-2023-37756-CWE-521-lead-to-malicious-plugin-upload-in-the-i-doit-Pro-25-and-below/blob/main/README.md"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://medium.com/%40ray.999/idoit-pro-v25-and-below-weak-password-add-on-upload-to-rce-cve-2023-37756-fa1b18433ca3"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://medium.com/@ray.999/idoit-pro-v25-and-below-weak-password-add-on-upload-to-rce-cve-2023-37756-fa1b18433ca3"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-CG8J-HFWR-RPVV

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:19 – Updated: 2022-05-13 01:19
VLAI
Details

IBM Security Identity Manager 6.0.0 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 153628.

Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Show details on source website
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2018-1956"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2019-01-14T14:29:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "IBM Security Identity Manager 6.0.0 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 153628.",
  "id": "GHSA-cg8j-hfwr-rpvv",
  "modified": "2022-05-13T01:19:48Z",
  "published": "2022-05-13T01:19:48Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1956"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/153628"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ibm10794615"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106554"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-CJ2C-Q753-9H5G

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:24 – Updated: 2024-02-09 03:32
VLAI
Details

IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 184181.

Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Show details on source website
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2020-4574"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2020-07-29T14:15:00Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 184181.",
  "id": "GHSA-cj2c-q753-9h5g",
  "modified": "2024-02-09T03:32:57Z",
  "published": "2022-05-24T17:24:40Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-4574"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/184181"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6253781"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-CM2R-RG7R-P7GG

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-06-30 17:50 – Updated: 2025-08-04 17:39
VLAI
Summary
File Browser vulnerable to insecure password handling
Details

Summary

All user accounts authenticate towards a File Browser instance with a password. A missing password policy and brute-force protection makes it impossible for administrators to properly secure the authentication process.

Impact

Attackers can mount a brute-force attack against the passwords of all accounts of an instance. Since the application is lacking the ability to prevent users from choosing a weak password, the attack is likely to succeed.

Vulnerability Description

The application implement a classical authentication scheme using a username and password combination. While employed by many systems, this scheme is quite error-prone and a common cause for vulnerabilities. File Browser's implementation has multiple weak points:

  1. Since the application is missing the capability for administrators to define a password policy, users are at liberty to set trivial and well-known passwords such as secret or even ones with only single digit like 1.
  2. New instances are set up with a default password of admin for the initial administrative account. This password is well known and easily guessable. While the documentation advises to change this password, the application does not technically enforce it.
  3. The application does not implement any brute-force protection for the authentication endpoint. Attackers can make as many guesses for a password as the network bandwidth allows.

The combination of these problems makes it likely, that an attacker will succeed in compromising at least one account in a File Browser instance, possibly even one with administrative privileges. The likelihood of such an attack increases substantially for internet-facing instances.

Proof of Concept

The insecure default credentials are documented on the application's website:

image

The following HTTP communication shows, that a trivial password of 1 can be configured by a user:

```http hl:17 PUT /api/users/2 HTTP/1.1 Host: filebrowser.local:8080 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0 Accept: / Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5 Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br Referer: http://filebrowser.local:8080/settings/profile X-Auth: eyJ[...] Content-Type: text/plain;charset=UTF-8 Content-Length: 319 Origin: http://filebrowser.local:8080 Connection: keep-alive Cookie: auth=eyJ[...] X-PwnFox-Color: cyan Priority: u=0

{"what":"user","which":["password"],"data":{"id":2,"locale":"en","viewMode":"mosaic","singleClick":false,"perm":{"admin":false,"execute":true,"create":true,"rename":true,"modify":true,"delete":true,"share":true,"download":true},"commands":[],"lockPassword":false,"hideDotfiles":false,"dateFormat":false,"password":"1"}}

HTTP/1.1 200 OK Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; style-src 'unsafe-inline'; Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:31:34 GMT Content-Length: 7

200 OK


The missing brute-force protection can easily be tested by repeatedly sending the following request to the application with a tool such as Burp or hydra.

POST /api/login HTTP/1.1 Host: filebrowser.local:8080 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0 Accept: / Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5 Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br Content-Type: application/json Content-Length: 52 Origin: http://filebrowser.local:8080

{"username":"admin","password":"myPasswordGuess","recaptcha":""}

HTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; style-src 'unsafe-inline'; Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:39:48 GMT Content-Length: 14

403 Forbidden


After sending 3000 bad passwords to the application within a few seconds, a successful authentication is still possible for the account:

```http
POST /api/login HTTP/1.1
Host: filebrowser.local:8080
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0
Accept: */*
Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5
Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br
Content-Type: application/json
Content-Length: 54
Origin: http://filebrowser.local:8080
Connection: keep-alive

{"username":"admin","password":"myCorrectPassword","recaptcha":""}

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Cache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate
Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; style-src 'unsafe-inline';
Content-Type: text/plain
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:39:58 GMT
Content-Length: 508

eyJ[...]

Recommended Countermeasures

The application should add an option to define a password policy in its administrative interface which allows to set a minimum length for passwords. The default settings should be in line with the NIST publication SP 800-63B. This means, that now passwords of fewer than 8 characters should ever be allowed by the application. Whenever a user sets a new password, the application should verify whether that password is part of a "known passwords" list.

The application should either create a secure and random password for the admin account upon initialization or enforce an immediate password change when that user logs in for the first time using the default password.

A brute-force protection needs to be implemented, which limits the allowed amount of authentication attempts per user within a certain timeframe. This implementation should employ device tokens to prevent targeted lockout attacks.

In addition, it would be advisable to allow the integration of the application into and existing Identity Provider using protocols like LDAP or OIDC.

Timeline

  • 2025-03-27 Identified the vulnerability in version 2.32.0
  • 2025-04-11 Contacted the project
  • 2025-04-29 Vulnerability disclosed to the project
  • 2025-06-25 Uploaded advisories to the project's GitHub repository
  • 2025-06-26 CVE ID assigned by GitHub
  • 2025-06-29 Fix released in version 2.34.1. 12 minimum characters as default has been chosen since the implementation does not include protection against brute force attacks.

References

Credits

Severity
5.9 (Medium)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Show details on source website
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 2.34.0"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Go",
        "name": "github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/v2"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "2.34.1"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Go",
        "name": "github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "last_affected": "1.11.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2025-52997"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-1392",
      "CWE-307",
      "CWE-521"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2025-06-30T17:50:01Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2025-06-30T20:15:25Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "## Summary ##\n\nAll user accounts authenticate towards a *File Browser* instance with a password. A missing password policy and brute-force protection makes it impossible for administrators to properly secure the authentication process.\n\n## Impact ##\n\nAttackers can mount a brute-force attack against the passwords of all accounts of an instance. Since the application is lacking the ability to prevent users from choosing a weak password, the attack is likely to succeed.\n\n## Vulnerability Description ##\n\nThe application implement a classical authentication scheme using a username and password combination. While employed by many systems, this scheme is quite error-prone and a common cause for vulnerabilities. File Browser\u0027s implementation has multiple weak points:\n\n1. Since the application is missing the capability for administrators to define a password policy, users are at liberty to set trivial and well-known passwords such as `secret` or even ones with only single digit like `1`.\n2. New instances are set up with a default password of `admin` for the initial administrative account. This password is well known and easily guessable. While the documentation advises to change this password, the application does not technically enforce it.\n3. The application does not implement any brute-force protection for the authentication endpoint. Attackers can make as many guesses for a password as the network bandwidth allows.\n\nThe combination of these problems makes it likely, that an attacker will succeed in compromising at least one account in a *File Browser* instance, possibly even one with administrative privileges. The likelihood of such an attack increases substantially for internet-facing instances.\n\n## Proof of Concept ##\n\nThe insecure default credentials are documented on the application\u0027s website:\n\n![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/46c07d99-dc7b-4d6e-ac27-7eb002229201)\n\nThe following HTTP communication shows, that a trivial password of `1` can be configured by a user:\n\n```http hl:17\nPUT /api/users/2 HTTP/1.1\nHost: filebrowser.local:8080\nUser-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0\nAccept: */*\nAccept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5\nAccept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br\nReferer: http://filebrowser.local:8080/settings/profile\nX-Auth: eyJ[...]\nContent-Type: text/plain;charset=UTF-8\nContent-Length: 319\nOrigin: http://filebrowser.local:8080\nConnection: keep-alive\nCookie: auth=eyJ[...]\nX-PwnFox-Color: cyan\nPriority: u=0\n\n{\"what\":\"user\",\"which\":[\"password\"],\"data\":{\"id\":2,\"locale\":\"en\",\"viewMode\":\"mosaic\",\"singleClick\":false,\"perm\":{\"admin\":false,\"execute\":true,\"create\":true,\"rename\":true,\"modify\":true,\"delete\":true,\"share\":true,\"download\":true},\"commands\":[],\"lockPassword\":false,\"hideDotfiles\":false,\"dateFormat\":false,\"password\":\"1\"}}\n\nHTTP/1.1 200 OK\nCache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate\nContent-Security-Policy: default-src \u0027self\u0027; style-src \u0027unsafe-inline\u0027;\nContent-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\nX-Content-Type-Options: nosniff\nDate: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:31:34 GMT\nContent-Length: 7\n\n200 OK\n```\n\nThe missing brute-force protection can easily be tested by repeatedly sending the following request to the application with a tool such as Burp or hydra.\n\n```\nPOST /api/login HTTP/1.1\nHost: filebrowser.local:8080\nUser-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0\nAccept: */*\nAccept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5\nAccept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br\nContent-Type: application/json\nContent-Length: 52\nOrigin: http://filebrowser.local:8080\n\n{\"username\":\"admin\",\"password\":\"myPasswordGuess\",\"recaptcha\":\"\"}\n\nHTTP/1.1 403 Forbidden\nCache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate\nContent-Security-Policy: default-src \u0027self\u0027; style-src \u0027unsafe-inline\u0027;\nContent-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\nX-Content-Type-Options: nosniff\nDate: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:39:48 GMT\nContent-Length: 14\n\n403 Forbidden\n```\n\nAfter sending 3000 bad passwords to the application within a few seconds, a successful authentication is still possible for the account:\n\n```http\nPOST /api/login HTTP/1.1\nHost: filebrowser.local:8080\nUser-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0\nAccept: */*\nAccept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5\nAccept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br\nContent-Type: application/json\nContent-Length: 54\nOrigin: http://filebrowser.local:8080\nConnection: keep-alive\n\n{\"username\":\"admin\",\"password\":\"myCorrectPassword\",\"recaptcha\":\"\"}\n\nHTTP/1.1 200 OK\nCache-Control: no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate\nContent-Security-Policy: default-src \u0027self\u0027; style-src \u0027unsafe-inline\u0027;\nContent-Type: text/plain\nDate: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 08:39:58 GMT\nContent-Length: 508\n\neyJ[...]\n```\n\n## Recommended Countermeasures ##\n\nThe application should add an option to define a password policy in its administrative interface which allows to set a minimum length for passwords.\nThe default settings should be in line with the NIST publication SP 800-63B. This means, that now passwords of fewer than 8 characters should ever be allowed by the application.\nWhenever a user sets a new password, the application should verify whether that password is part of a \"known passwords\" list.\n\nThe application should either create a secure and random password for the `admin` account upon initialization or enforce an immediate password change when that user logs in for the first time using the default password.\n\nA brute-force protection needs to be implemented, which limits the allowed amount of authentication attempts per user within a certain timeframe. This implementation should employ *device tokens* to prevent targeted lockout attacks.\n\nIn addition, it would be advisable to allow the integration of the application into and existing *Identity Provider* using protocols like LDAP or OIDC.\n\n## Timeline ##\n\n* `2025-03-27` Identified the vulnerability in version 2.32.0\n* `2025-04-11` Contacted the project\n* `2025-04-29` Vulnerability disclosed to the project\n* `2025-06-25` Uploaded advisories to the project\u0027s GitHub repository\n* `2025-06-26` CVE ID assigned by GitHub\n* `2025-06-29` Fix released in version 2.34.1. 12 minimum characters as default has been chosen since the implementation does not include protection against brute force attacks. \n\n## References ##\n\n* [OWASP Authentication Cheat Sheet](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Authentication_Cheat_Sheet.html#implement-proper-password-strength-controls)\n* [NIST Special Publication 800-63B. Digital Identity Guidelines. Passwords](https://pages.nist.gov/800-63-4/sp800-63b.html#password)\n* [Pwned Passwords](https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords)\n* [Common Credentials](https://github.com/danielmiessler/SecLists/tree/master/Passwords/Common-Credentials)\n* [CWE-307: Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/307.html)\n* [CWE-521: Weak Password Requirements](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/521.html)\n* [CWE-1392: Use of Default Credentials](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1392.html)\n* [Original Advisory](https://github.com/sbaresearch/advisories/tree/public/2025/SBA-ADV-20250327-01_Filebrowser_Insecure_Password_Handling)\n\n## Credits ##\n\n* Mathias Tausig ([SBA Research](https://www.sba-research.org/))",
  "id": "GHSA-cm2r-rg7r-p7gg",
  "modified": "2025-08-04T17:39:31Z",
  "published": "2025-06-30T17:50:01Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/security/advisories/GHSA-cm2r-rg7r-p7gg"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-52997"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser/commit/bf37f88c32222ad9c186482bb97338a9c9b4a93c"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/sbaresearch/advisories/tree/public/2025/SBA-ADV-20250327-01_Filebrowser_Insecure_Password_Handling"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2025-3792"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "File Browser vulnerable to insecure password handling"
}
Mitigation
Architecture and Design
  • A product's design should require adherance to an appropriate password policy. Specific password requirements depend strongly on contextual factors, but it is recommended to contain the following attributes:
  • Depending on the threat model, the password policy may include several additional attributes.
  • See NIST 800-63B [REF-1053] for further information on password requirements.
  • {'xhtml:li': ['Enforcement of a minimum and maximum length', 'Restrictions against password reuse', 'Restrictions against using common passwords', 'Restrictions against using contextual string in the password (e.g., user id, app name)']}
  • {'xhtml:li': [{'xhtml:ul': {'xhtml:li': ['Increasing the range of characters makes the password harder to crack and may be appropriate for systems relying on single factor authentication.', 'Unfortunately, a complex password may be difficult to memorize, encouraging a user to select a short password or to incorrectly manage the password (write it down).', "Another disadvantage of this approach is that it often does not result in a significant increases in overal password complexity due to people's predictable usage of various symbols."]}, '#text': 'Complex passwords requiring mixed character sets (alpha, numeric, special, mixed case)'}, {'xhtml:ul': {'xhtml:li': ['Increasing the number of characters makes the password harder to crack and may be appropriate for systems relying on single factor authentication.', 'A disadvantage of this approach is that selecting a good passphrase is not easy and poor passwords can still be generated. Some prompting may be needed to encourage long un-predictable passwords.']}, '#text': 'Large Minimum Length (encouraging passphrases instead of passwords)'}, {'xhtml:ul': {'xhtml:li': ['Generating a password for the user can help make sure that length and complexity requirements are met, and can result in secure passwords being used.', 'A disadvantage of this approach is that the resulting password or passpharse may be too difficult to memorize, encouraging them to be written down.']}, '#text': 'Randomly Chosen Secrets'}]}
Mitigation
Architecture and Design

Consider a second authentication factor beyond the password, which prevents the password from being a single point of failure. See CWE-308 for further information.

Mitigation
Implementation

Consider implementing a password complexity meter to inform users when a chosen password meets the required attributes.

Mitigation
Implementation

Previously, "password expiration" was widely advocated as a defense-in-depth approach to minimize the risk of weak passwords, and it has become a common practice. Password expiration requires a password to be changed within a fixed time window (such as every 90 days). However, this approach has significant limitations in the current threat landscape, and its utility has been reduced in light of the adoption of related protection mechanisms (such as password complexity and computational effort), along with the recognition that regular password changes often caused users to generate more predictable passwords. As a result, this is now a Discouraged Common Practice [REF-1488] [REF-1489], especially as the sole factor in protecting passwords. It is still strongly encouraged to force password changes in case of evidence of compromise, but this is not the same as a forced "expiration" on an arbitrary time frame.

CAPEC-112: Brute Force

In this attack, some asset (information, functionality, identity, etc.) is protected by a finite secret value. The attacker attempts to gain access to this asset by using trial-and-error to exhaustively explore all the possible secret values in the hope of finding the secret (or a value that is functionally equivalent) that will unlock the asset.

CAPEC-16: Dictionary-based Password Attack

An attacker tries each of the words in a dictionary as passwords to gain access to the system via some user's account. If the password chosen by the user was a word within the dictionary, this attack will be successful (in the absence of other mitigations). This is a specific instance of the password brute forcing attack pattern.

Dictionary Attacks differ from similar attacks such as Password Spraying (CAPEC-565) and Credential Stuffing (CAPEC-600), since they leverage unknown username/password combinations and don't care about inducing account lockouts.

CAPEC-49: Password Brute Forcing

An adversary tries every possible value for a password until they succeed. A brute force attack, if feasible computationally, will always be successful because it will essentially go through all possible passwords given the alphabet used (lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers, symbols, etc.) and the maximum length of the password.

CAPEC-509: Kerberoasting

Through the exploitation of how service accounts leverage Kerberos authentication with Service Principal Names (SPNs), the adversary obtains and subsequently cracks the hashed credentials of a service account target to exploit its privileges. The Kerberos authentication protocol centers around a ticketing system which is used to request/grant access to services and to then access the requested services. As an authenticated user, the adversary may request Active Directory and obtain a service ticket with portions encrypted via RC4 with the private key of the authenticated account. By extracting the local ticket and saving it disk, the adversary can brute force the hashed value to reveal the target account credentials.

CAPEC-55: Rainbow Table Password Cracking

An attacker gets access to the database table where hashes of passwords are stored. They then use a rainbow table of pre-computed hash chains to attempt to look up the original password. Once the original password corresponding to the hash is obtained, the attacker uses the original password to gain access to the system.

CAPEC-555: Remote Services with Stolen Credentials

This pattern of attack involves an adversary that uses stolen credentials to leverage remote services such as RDP, telnet, SSH, and VNC to log into a system. Once access is gained, any number of malicious activities could be performed.

CAPEC-561: Windows Admin Shares with Stolen Credentials

An adversary guesses or obtains (i.e. steals or purchases) legitimate Windows administrator credentials (e.g. userID/password) to access Windows Admin Shares on a local machine or within a Windows domain.

CAPEC-565: Password Spraying

In a Password Spraying attack, an adversary tries a small list (e.g. 3-5) of common or expected passwords, often matching the target's complexity policy, against a known list of user accounts to gain valid credentials. The adversary tries a particular password for each user account, before moving onto the next password in the list. This approach assists the adversary in remaining undetected by avoiding rapid or frequent account lockouts. The adversary may then reattempt the process with additional passwords, once enough time has passed to prevent inducing a lockout.

CAPEC-70: Try Common or Default Usernames and Passwords

An adversary may try certain common or default usernames and passwords to gain access into the system and perform unauthorized actions. An adversary may try an intelligent brute force using empty passwords, known vendor default credentials, as well as a dictionary of common usernames and passwords. Many vendor products come preconfigured with default (and thus well-known) usernames and passwords that should be deleted prior to usage in a production environment. It is a common mistake to forget to remove these default login credentials. Another problem is that users would pick very simple (common) passwords (e.g. "secret" or "password") that make it easier for the attacker to gain access to the system compared to using a brute force attack or even a dictionary attack using a full dictionary.

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