CVE-2025-46552 in KHC-INVITATION-AUTOMATION
Summary
by MITRE • 04/30/2025
KHC-INVITATION-AUTOMATION is a GitHub automation script that automatically invites followers of a bot account to join your organization. In some commits on version 1.2, a vulnerability was identified where user data, including email addresses and Discord usernames, were exposed in API responses without proper access controls. This allowed unauthorized users to access sensitive user information by directly calling specific endpoints. This issue has been patched in a later commit on version 1.2.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2025
The vulnerability identified in KHC-INVITATION-AUTOMATION version 1.2 represents a critical access control flaw that directly violates fundamental security principles of data protection and privacy. This GitHub automation script was designed to streamline the process of inviting followers to join organizations, but the implementation contained a significant oversight in its API response handling mechanisms. The flaw specifically manifested in scenarios where user data including email addresses and Discord usernames were inadvertently exposed through API endpoints that should have enforced proper authentication and authorization checks. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control implementation, creating an attack surface where unauthorized parties could directly access sensitive user information by making specific API calls without proper credentials or permissions. This type of exposure directly aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege that should govern all system interactions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, creating potential risks for user privacy and organizational security posture. When user email addresses and Discord usernames are accessible through unauthenticated API calls, it opens pathways for various malicious activities including targeted phishing attacks, social engineering campaigns, and potential credential harvesting. The exposure of Discord usernames particularly raises concerns about cross-platform identity correlation, as these identifiers often serve as persistent handles across multiple services and communities. The vulnerability's persistence in specific commits of version 1.2 indicates that the development team failed to implement proper security testing and code review processes before deployment, creating a situation where sensitive user data was potentially accessible to anyone who could discover the vulnerable endpoints. This scenario demonstrates the critical importance of implementing comprehensive security controls during the development lifecycle, particularly for automation scripts that interact with user data.
The remediation of this vulnerability through a later commit in version 1.2 highlights the importance of continuous security monitoring and rapid response capabilities in software development environments. The fact that the issue was patched suggests that the development team eventually recognized the severity of the access control failure and implemented proper authentication checks for the affected API endpoints. However, this vulnerability's existence prior to patching represents a significant security gap that could have been exploited by malicious actors during the window of exposure. Organizations using this automation script should conduct thorough security assessments to ensure that no unauthorized access occurred during the vulnerable period, while also implementing proper access control mechanisms for all API endpoints that handle user data. The vulnerability's resolution through code modification aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which involves social engineering through the exploitation of access controls, and demonstrates the necessity of implementing proper API security measures including authentication, authorization, and input validation controls.
The broader implications of this vulnerability extend to organizational security practices and the need for comprehensive security testing of automation scripts. Development teams must implement proper security controls during the design phase rather than addressing issues post-deployment, as evidenced by the need for a subsequent patch to resolve the access control flaw. The exposure of user data through API endpoints without proper access controls represents a fundamental security failure that violates privacy protection principles and could potentially lead to compliance violations under data protection regulations such as gdpr or ccpa. This vulnerability serves as a reminder that even seemingly benign automation tools can pose significant security risks when proper access control mechanisms are not implemented, emphasizing the importance of security-by-design principles in all software development activities and the necessity of conducting thorough security assessments before deploying automation scripts that interact with user data.