Information Disclosure
Last updated: January 12, 2026
Information disclosure occurs when applications reveal sensitive information through error messages, debug output, or metadata that attackers can use for reconnaissance.
Scan for This VulnerabilityWhat is Information Disclosure?
Applications often leak information that helps attackers understand the system - stack traces revealing framework versions, error messages exposing database structure, headers showing server software, or API responses including internal IDs. This information aids in crafting targeted attacks.
Why It's Dangerous
This vulnerability can allow attackers to access sensitive data, compromise user accounts, or gain unauthorized control over your application. In AI-generated code, this issue is particularly common because security measures are often deprioritized in favor of rapid feature development.
Why AI Code Is Vulnerable
AI code generation tools focus on producing functional code quickly. They often generate patterns that work correctly but lack the defensive measures experienced security engineers would implement. This makes information disclosure particularly prevalent in vibe-coded applications.
Understanding the Technical Details
Information Disclosure is classified as a medium-severity vulnerability because of its potential to cause significant damage to your application and users. Understanding the technical mechanics helps you recognize and prevent this issue in your own code.
This vulnerability typically occurs when security controls are either missing entirely, improperly configured, or incorrectly implemented. In many cases, the code appears to work correctly during development and testing, but the security flaw becomes exploitable once the application is deployed and accessible to malicious actors.
Attackers actively scan for this type of vulnerability using automated tools. Once discovered, exploitation can be rapid—often within hours of your application going live. The consequences range from data theft and account takeover to complete system compromise depending on the application's architecture.
For vibe-coded applications built with platforms like Lovable, Bolt.new, Replit, or v0.dev, this vulnerability appears in roughly 20-40% of deployments according to security research. The AI-generated patterns often follow insecure defaults that require manual security hardening.
How It Happens
- Verbose error messages in production
- Stack traces exposed to users
- Debug mode enabled in production
- Server version headers not removed
- Internal IDs in API responses
Impact
Easier vulnerability discovery for attackers
Database structure revelation
Technology stack identification
Internal path and configuration exposure
How to Detect
- Trigger errors and examine responses
- Check response headers for version info
- Look for stack traces in error pages
- Run VAS to detect information leakage
How to Fix
Use generic error messages
Don't expose internal details to users.
// BAD
return res.status(500).json({
error: "PostgreSQL error: column 'user_id' not found in table 'users'"
});
// GOOD
return res.status(500).json({
error: "An error occurred. Please try again."
});Disable debug mode in production
Ensure debugging features are off.
// Next.js - check NODE_ENV
if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
// Production settings
}Remove version headers
Hide technology information from responses.
// Next.js
module.exports = {
poweredByHeader: false,
}Commonly Affected Platforms
Prevention Best Practices
The most effective approach to information disclosure is prevention. Implementing security measures during development is significantly easier and less costly than remediating vulnerabilities after deployment.
Security-First Development
When using AI code generation tools, always review the generated code for security implications. AI tools prioritize functionality over security, so treat all generated code as requiring security review. Establish a checklist of security requirements specific to your application type and verify each before deployment.
Continuous Security Testing
Integrate security scanning into your development workflow. Run scans after major code changes, before deployments, and on a regular schedule for production applications. Early detection of vulnerabilities reduces remediation costs and prevents potential breaches.
Defense in Depth
Never rely on a single security control. Implement multiple layers of protection so that if one control fails, others still protect your application. For example, combine authentication, authorization, input validation, and output encoding to create comprehensive protection against attacks.
Stay Informed
Security threats evolve constantly. Follow security researchers, subscribe to vulnerability databases, and monitor your dependencies for known issues. Understanding emerging threats helps you proactively protect your applications before attackers exploit new techniques.
Is Your App Vulnerable?
VAS automatically scans for information disclosure and provides detailed remediation guidance with code examples. Our scanner specifically targets vulnerabilities common in AI-generated applications.
Scans from $5, results in minutes. Get actionable results with step-by-step fix instructions tailored to your stack.
Get Starter ScanFrequently Asked Questions
What information is dangerous to expose?
Stack traces (reveal file paths, line numbers, framework versions), database errors (reveal table/column names, query structure), version headers (Server: nginx/1.19.0), internal IPs, debug endpoints, and user enumeration (different errors for 'user not found' vs 'wrong password').
How do I handle errors without exposing information?
Log detailed errors server-side (to Sentry, LogRocket, etc.) but return generic messages to users. Map internal error codes to user-friendly messages. Example: log 'PostgreSQL connection timeout to 10.0.0.5:5432' but return 'Service temporarily unavailable. Please try again.'
Should I remove X-Powered-By headers?
Yes, remove or modify version headers. While security through obscurity isn't sufficient alone, revealing 'Express 4.17.1' or 'PHP 7.4.3' tells attackers exactly which CVEs to try. Most frameworks have options to disable these headers.
Is user enumeration a real risk?
Yes. If login returns 'user not found' vs 'incorrect password', attackers can build a list of valid usernames for targeted attacks. Use consistent messages: 'Invalid credentials' regardless of whether username or password was wrong. Same principle for password reset.