Hidden-user disclosure via inconsistent existence validation
Published Dec 26, 2022 · Updated Apr 14, 2025
Information disclosure in affected MediaWiki releases allows remote attackers to identify hidden users through user-name validation. HTMLUserTextField checks whether a submitted user exists but fails to treat hidden users as unregistered when the requester cannot view them. No authentication or user interaction is required; differing validation results disclose only whether a chosen hidden account exists.
Summary
What happened
Information disclosure in affected MediaWiki releases allows remote attackers to identify hidden users through user-name validation. HTMLUserTextField checks whether a submitted user exists but fails to treat hidden users as unregistered when the requester cannot view them. No authentication or user interaction is required; differing validation results disclose only whether a chosen hidden account exists.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-41765
- Published
- Dec 26, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 14, 2025
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-203, T1087
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 26, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 14, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- Special:EmailUser hidden-user enumeration procedureproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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