CVE-2026-102121 in Secure Data Forms
Summary
by MITRE • 10/01/2026
A form-rendering interface in the Advanced Forms component is reachable without authentication so that published forms can be displayed to anonymous visitors, but it returned more data than the form itself required. Anyone who knew the web address of a published form could potentially retrieve the form owner's Kiteworks account profile, including personal details, along with parts of the deployment's configuration settings; no passwords, authentication tokens, or multi-factor secrets were exposed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2026
The vulnerability identified in the Advanced Forms component represents an insecure direct object reference combined with excessive data exposure within a form-rendering interface. This specific flaw allows unauthenticated users to access published forms by directly invoking their web addresses without requiring any prior authentication credentials. While the primary function of this interface is to display user-submitted form data, it fails to strictly limit the scope of information returned in response requests. Instead of returning only the fields explicitly defined within the published form structure, the backend logic inadvertently includes additional metadata and contextual information associated with the form owner's account profile and broader system configuration settings. This behavior indicates a lack of strict output filtering or serialization controls that should isolate public-facing data from internal administrative details.
From a technical perspective, this issue stems from improper access control mechanisms where the application trusts client-side requests to define the extent of data retrieval without validating whether such extensive data disclosure is appropriate for an anonymous context. The vulnerability allows any individual with knowledge of the specific URL structure for a published form to trigger a response that leaks sensitive information beyond the intended scope. Although critical authentication secrets such as passwords, tokens, or multi-factor authentication seeds are not exposed, the leakage of personal details and configuration settings poses significant risks regarding privacy compliance and operational security. The exposure of profile data can facilitate targeted social engineering attacks against specific individuals within an organization, while the disclosure of deployment configurations may aid attackers in understanding system architecture for further exploitation attempts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is primarily centered on information leakage and potential regulatory non-compliance. Organizations utilizing Kiteworks are often subject to strict data protection regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA, which mandate that personal identifiable information be handled with appropriate safeguards regardless of the access level required to view it. By exposing profile details like names, job titles, or contact information through an unauthenticated endpoint, the organization inadvertently creates a vector for privacy violations. Furthermore, revealing configuration settings can provide adversaries with valuable intelligence about the software version, installed plugins, or network topology, which could be leveraged in subsequent attack phases to identify other potential weaknesses within the infrastructure.
This vulnerability aligns closely with CWE-209, which describes the generation of an error message that includes sensitive information, and more specifically CWE-613, insufficient session expiration, although it is most accurately categorized under CWE-284, Improper Access Control, due to the unauthorized retrieval of data. In terms of attack patterns, this behavior corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1078, Valid Accounts, as attackers can leverage valid but unauthenticated access paths to gather information, and potentially T1592, Gather Victim Host Information, by extracting configuration details that reveal system characteristics. The lack of authentication for a resource containing sensitive data also reflects weaknesses in identity management and session handling principles outlined in industry standards such as OWASP ASVS.
To mitigate this vulnerability, immediate remediation should focus on implementing strict access controls for the form-rendering interface to ensure that only authenticated users or specifically authorized public endpoints can retrieve any data. Developers must enforce a principle of least privilege by ensuring that API responses are sanitized and limited strictly to the fields explicitly defined in the published form schema. It is critical to separate user profile data from form submission payloads during serialization processes so that personal account details are never included in responses intended for anonymous viewers. Additionally, implementing comprehensive logging and monitoring for unusual access patterns to these endpoints can help detect potential exploitation attempts early. Regular security testing, including automated vulnerability scans and manual penetration tests focusing on information disclosure flaws, should be integrated into the development lifecycle to prevent similar issues from arising in future updates or components.