VulnerabilityPublished 22 Jan 2024Updated 30 May 2025

CVE-2024-23770: darkhttpd through 1.15 allows local users to discover credentials (for --auth) by listing processes

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 14% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Jan 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubemikulic/darkhttpd`pkg:github/emikulic/darkhttpd`Other threats	Affected <=1.15	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-23770, European organizations should avoid passing authentication credentials via command-line arguments when running darkhttpd. Instead, credentials should be stored and referenced securely, for example, by using configuration files with strict permissions or environment variables inaccessible to other users. If possible, run darkhttpd under dedicated service accounts with minimal privileges and restrict local user access to the system to trusted personnel only. Employ process hiding or restrict access to process listing commands (e.g., limit use of ps, top, or /proc filesystem permissions) to prevent unauthorized users from viewing process arguments. Additionally, consider using alternative HTTP servers that do not expose credentials in process arguments or that support more secure authentication mechanisms. Regularly audit systems for unauthorized access and monitor for suspicious local user activity. Finally, keep track of vendor updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available.

Description

darkhttpd through 1.15 allows local users to discover credentials (for --auth) by listing processes and their arguments.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-23770 depends largely on the deployment context of darkhttpd. Organizations using darkhttpd in multi-user environments, such as shared servers or development machines, risk unauthorized disclosure of authentication credentials to local users. This can lead to unauthorized access to web services protected by these credentials, potentially exposing sensitive internal resources or data. While the vulnerability does not allow remote exploitation, insider threats or compromised local accounts could leverage this to escalate access. In sectors with strict data protection regulations like GDPR, unauthorized credential disclosure could lead to compliance issues and reputational damage. The impact is more pronounced in organizations with less stringent local user access controls or where darkhttpd is used in production environments with authentication enabled. However, organizations that deploy darkhttpd on isolated or single-user systems face minimal risk. Overall, the confidentiality breach could facilitate lateral movement or privilege escalation within affected networks, increasing the risk of further compromise.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 19:13 UTC

Technical details

References

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