CVE-2024-42056 is a security vulnerability identified in the self-hosted enterprise editions of Retool, a popular low-code platform used for building internal tools. The flaw exists in versions from 3.18.1 through 3.40.0, where resource authentication credentials are improperly embedded within data transmitted by the /api/resources endpoint. Specifically, users with 'Use' permissions—who are authenticated but may not have administrative rights—can retrieve these credentials by querying this API endpoint. This behavior results in an unintended disclosure of sensitive authentication data, violating confidentiality principles. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-352, which relates to Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), suggesting that the underlying issue may involve improper handling of authentication tokens or session data in API responses. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 6.5, reflecting a medium severity level, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring privileges (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), high confidentiality impact (C:H), and no impact on integrity or availability (I:N/A:N). No public exploits have been reported yet, but the presence of exposed credentials could facilitate lateral movement or privilege escalation within affected environments if leveraged by malicious insiders or compromised accounts.

The primary impact of this vulnerability is the exposure of resource authentication credentials to authenticated users with 'Use' permissions, which could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive resources or data within an organization's Retool deployment. This compromises confidentiality and could enable attackers to pivot within the network, escalate privileges, or exfiltrate sensitive information. Since Retool is widely used for building internal tools that often integrate with critical business systems and databases, credential leakage could have cascading effects, including data breaches, operational disruption, and regulatory compliance violations. The medium severity rating reflects that exploitation requires authenticated access, limiting the attack surface to insiders or compromised accounts, but the ease of exploitation and potential for significant data exposure make this a notable risk for organizations relying on affected Retool versions.

Organizations should immediately assess their Retool deployments to determine if they are running affected versions between 3.18.1 and 3.40.0. Since no official patches are currently linked, administrators should consider the following mitigations: restrict 'Use' permissions strictly to trusted users and minimize the number of accounts with such access; implement network segmentation and access controls to limit API endpoint exposure; monitor API access logs for unusual activity targeting /api/resources; employ strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication to reduce risk from compromised accounts; and consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious API requests. Additionally, organizations should stay alert for vendor updates or patches addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. Conducting internal audits of credential handling and rotating exposed credentials can further reduce risk.