CVE-2002-0011 in Bugzilla
Summary
by MITRE
Information leak in doeditvotes.cgi in Bugzilla before 2.14.1 may allow remote attackers to more easily conduct attacks on the login.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/23/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0011 represents a critical information disclosure flaw within the Bugzilla bug tracking system's doeditvotes.cgi component. This vulnerability affected versions of Bugzilla prior to 2.14.1 and exposed sensitive authentication information that could be leveraged by remote attackers to compromise the system's login mechanisms. The flaw specifically manifested in the improper handling of vote-related data within the CGI script, creating an avenue for unauthorized information retrieval that directly impacted the system's security posture.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output sanitization within the doeditvotes.cgi script. When users interacted with the voting functionality, the script failed to properly filter or escape data before presenting it to users, resulting in the exposure of internal system information. This information leak could potentially reveal details about the authentication process, user session management, or other sensitive operational parameters that would normally remain hidden from external observers. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web interface components responsible for user voting and feedback mechanisms within Bugzilla's administrative framework.
The operational impact of this information leak extends beyond simple data exposure, as it significantly weakens the overall security architecture of Bugzilla installations. Remote attackers who could access the leaked information gained valuable intelligence about the system's authentication processes, potentially enabling them to craft more sophisticated attacks against user credentials or exploit other vulnerabilities within the login system. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which categorizes information exposure flaws, and represents a classic example of how seemingly minor implementation issues in web applications can create substantial security risks. The exposure of authentication-related information directly supports attack patterns described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under credential access and reconnaissance phases, where adversaries seek to gather intelligence before launching more targeted attacks.
Organizations running vulnerable versions of Bugzilla faced significant risks from this information leak, as it could enable attackers to perform targeted credential stuffing attacks, brute force attempts, or other login-related exploits. The vulnerability essentially provided attackers with a foothold that would otherwise require more extensive reconnaissance efforts to obtain. Security practitioners should note that this vulnerability highlights the importance of proper input validation and output encoding in web applications, particularly in systems handling user authentication and session management. The recommended mitigation involves upgrading to Bugzilla version 2.14.1 or later, where the information disclosure issue has been addressed through improved data handling and sanitization mechanisms. Additionally, organizations should implement comprehensive monitoring for unusual access patterns and consider network-level protections to limit exposure to potential exploitation of such vulnerabilities.