Sensitive Information Disclosure

Disclosed by
Kuldeep_Soni_c1ph3r
Summary by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) - Vulnerability Disclosure Program

System owner has removed the file.

Summary by Kuldeep_Soni_c1ph3r

🛰️ NASA Subdomain Disclosed Internal .old File — Minor Info Leak

Date Found: 23 June 2024

Affected Domain: soho.nascom.nasa.gov (NASA)

Leaking Resource: /index.html.old

Severity: Low (P5) — Informational Exposure

📖 Summary

While browsing legacy resources under NASA's SOHO project subdomain, I discovered an exposed .old backup file that contains internal references and system file paths. These types of files are often unintentionally left behind during updates or migrations and remain accessible to the public.

Although this particular file didn’t expose highly sensitive data such as login credentials or PII, it did reveal internal structure, potential data formatting, and directory references. This kind of information could aid an attacker in further reconnaissance or chaining attacks with other vulnerabilities.

🛡️ Why It Matters

Even seemingly harmless .old or backup files may:

  • Help attackers fingerprint internal technologies or directory structure
  • Expose legacy logic or data schemas
  • Serve as reconnaissance for chaining attacks

Best practice: Regularly audit and remove .bak, .old, .swp, and similar files from production environments.

🔬 Reproduction Steps

  1. Open the following URL in any browser:
    Leaking .old file
  2. Review the contents of the page.
  3. View the page source to observe internal file path references and data layout.

🎥 Proof of Concept (PoC)

A recorded screen capture demonstrating the issue has been submitted to the responsible program:

File: Screencast from 2024-06-23 11:57:42.mp4

Size: 10.3 MB

🧩 Classification

  • Bug Type: Sensitive Data Exposure → Disclosure of Secrets → Intentionally Public, Sample, or Invalid
  • Vulnerability Rating Taxonomy (VRT): P5 — Informational
  • Platform: NASA Public Web Application

✅ Takeaway

Don't ignore old files!

Audit your servers for .old, .bak, .tmp, and other leftover development artifacts. Even non-critical data can provide a blueprint for attackers even sometime leaks sensitive data.

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