CVE-2023-38871 in Economizzer
Summary
by MITRE • 10/25/2023
The commit 3730880 (April 2023) and v.0.9-beta1 of gugoan Economizzer has a user enumeration vulnerability in the login and forgot password functionalities. The app reacts differently when a user or email address is valid, and when it's not. This may allow an attacker to determine whether a user or email address is valid, or brute force valid usernames and email addresses.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/07/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-38871 affects the gugoan Economizzer application version 0.9-beta1 and subsequent releases containing commit 3730880 from April 2023. This represents a classic user enumeration flaw that undermines the application's authentication security model by providing differential responses to authentication attempts. The vulnerability specifically manifests within the login and password recovery functionalities where the system exhibits distinct behavioral patterns based on whether the submitted credentials correspond to existing user accounts.
This user enumeration vulnerability stems from improper error handling within the application's authentication logic. When a user submits a valid username or email address, the application returns a different response compared to when an invalid credential is provided. This differential response behavior creates a predictable pattern that attackers can exploit to identify legitimate user accounts. The flaw essentially allows adversaries to perform reconnaissance by testing various username and email combinations, thereby mapping out valid user identities within the system. Such information disclosure represents a significant security risk as it provides attackers with targeted information for subsequent attack phases.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to enable more sophisticated attack vectors including account takeover attempts and brute force attacks. Attackers can systematically test username patterns and email addresses to build comprehensive lists of valid accounts, which can then be used for targeted credential stuffing or password spraying attacks. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-203, which specifically addresses "Information Exposure Through Discrepancy in Layered Product Behavior," and represents a clear violation of the principle of least information disclosure in authentication systems. This flaw undermines the security of the application's user management infrastructure and creates opportunities for unauthorized access to user accounts.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects core authentication functionality that forms the foundation of application security. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1078.004 "Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts" and T1110.003 "Brute Force: Password Guessing" as it enables both account enumeration and subsequent credential compromise attempts. The vulnerability also relates to T1566.001 "Phishing: Spearphishing Attachments" as attackers can use the enumerated user information to craft more convincing social engineering campaigns. Organizations should implement proper error handling that provides consistent responses regardless of whether the submitted credentials correspond to existing accounts, ensuring that authentication systems do not inadvertently reveal user account information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2023-38871 should focus on implementing consistent error responses across all authentication endpoints. The application must return identical error messages for both valid and invalid username/email submissions to prevent information leakage. This approach aligns with security best practices outlined in OWASP Authentication Cheat Sheet, which emphasizes the importance of avoiding differential responses in authentication systems. Organizations should also implement rate limiting and account lockout mechanisms to prevent automated enumeration attempts, while ensuring that these controls do not introduce additional information disclosure vulnerabilities. Regular security testing and code reviews should be conducted to identify similar issues in other authentication-related components. The fix should involve modifying the commit 3730880 to normalize error responses and ensure that authentication systems provide consistent feedback to prevent attackers from distinguishing between valid and invalid account submissions.