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Signal K Server Vulnerable to Unauthenticated Information Disclosure via Exposed Endpoints

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Jan 1, 2026 in SignalK/signalk-server • Updated Jan 2, 2026

Package

npm signalk-server (npm)

Affected versions

< 2.19.0

Patched versions

2.19.0

Description

[Note] This is a separate issue from the RCE vulnerability (State Pollution) currently being patched. While related to tokensecurity.js, it involves different endpoints and risks.

Summary

An unauthenticated information disclosure vulnerability allows any user to retrieve sensitive system information, including the full SignalK data schema, connected serial devices, and installed analyzer tools. This exposure facilitates reconnaissance for further attacks.

Details

The vulnerability stems from the fact that several sensitive API endpoints are not included in the authentication middleware's protection list in src/tokensecurity.js.

Vulnerable Code Analysis:

  1. Missing Protection: The tokensecurity.js file defines an array of paths that require authentication. However, the following paths defined in src/serverroutes.ts are missing from this list:

    • /skServer/serialports
    • /skServer/availablePaths
    • /skServer/hasAnalyzer
  2. Unrestricted Access: Because they are missing from the protection list, the http_authorize middleware allows access to these paths even when enableSecurity is set to true.

Exploit Scenario:

  1. Reconnaissance: An attacker scans the server for these endpoints.
  2. Data Extraction:
    • Querying /skServer/availablePaths returns the full JSON schema of the vessel's data (e.g., environment.sun.sunrise, navigation.position), allowing the attacker to know exactly what data points are available for targeting.
    • Querying /skServer/serialports reveals connected hardware (e.g., /dev/ttyUSB0), aiding in physical device targeting.

PoC

The following Python script demonstrates the vulnerability by querying the exposed endpoints without any authentication headers.

import urllib.request
import json

BASE_URL = "http://localhost:3000"

def check_endpoint(name, path):
    url = f"{BASE_URL}{path}"
    print(f"[*] Checking {name} at {url}...")
    try:
        req = urllib.request.Request(url)
        with urllib.request.urlopen(req) as response:
            if response.getcode() == 200:
                print(f"[!] VULNERABLE: {name} is accessible without authentication!")
                content = response.read().decode('utf-8')
                print(f"    Snippet: {content[:100]}...")
            else:
                print(f"[-] Secure: {response.getcode()}")
    except urllib.error.HTTPError as e:
        print(f"[-] Secure: {e.code}")
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Error: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    print("--- SignalK Information Disclosure PoC ---")
    check_endpoint("Serial Ports", "/skServer/serialports")
    check_endpoint("Available Paths", "/skServer/availablePaths")
    check_endpoint("Analyzer Check", "/skServer/hasAnalyzer")

Expected Result:
The script will output [!] VULNERABLE for all three endpoints, showing snippets of the leaked JSON data.

Impact

Verified Information Disclosure:
During our verification, we successfully retrieved the following sensitive information without any authentication:

  1. Full Data Schema: The /skServer/availablePaths endpoint returned the complete JSON schema of the vessel's data.
    • Example: environment.sun.sunrise, navigation.position
    • Leakage of Internal State: We also observed entries like notifications.security.accessRequest.readwrite.attacker-device-32, which revealed the presence and IDs of pending access requests (traces of our DoS attack), showing that internal server state is exposed.
  2. Hardware Configuration: The /skServer/serialports endpoint exposed the list of connected serial devices.
  3. System Capabilities: The /skServer/hasAnalyzer endpoint revealed whether traffic analysis tools were installed.

This information allows an attacker to map the system's internal state and capabilities, significantly facilitating further targeted attacks (Reconnaissance).


Remediation

Update src/tokensecurity.js
Add the missing paths to the list of protected routes in src/tokensecurity.js.

// src/tokensecurity.js

// ... existing protected paths ...
;[
  '/apps',
  '/appstore',
  '/plugins',
  '/restart',
  '/runDiscovery',
  '/security',
  '/vessel',
  '/providers',
  '/settings',
  '/webapps',
  '/skServer/inputTest',
  // ADD THESE LINES:
  '/skServer/serialports',
  '/skServer/availablePaths',
  '/skServer/hasAnalyzer'
].forEach((p) =>
  app.use(`${SERVERROUTESPREFIX}${p}`, http_authorize(false))
)

References

@tkurki tkurki published to SignalK/signalk-server Jan 1, 2026
Published by the National Vulnerability Database Jan 1, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database Jan 2, 2026
Reviewed Jan 2, 2026
Last updated Jan 2, 2026

Severity

Moderate

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(10th percentile)

Weaknesses

Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2025-68273

GHSA ID

GHSA-fpf5-w967-rr2m
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