• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

 | 

Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

 | 

U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

 | 

French Authorities confirm XSS.is admin arrested in Ukraine

 | 

Microsoft linked attacks on SharePoint flaws to China-nexus actors

 | 

Cisco confirms active exploitation of ISE and ISE-PIC flaws

 | 

SharePoint under fire: new ToolShell attacks target enterprises

 | 

CrushFTP zero-day actively exploited at least since July 18

 | 

Hardcoded credentials found in HPE Aruba Instant On Wi-Fi devices

 | 

MuddyWater deploys new DCHSpy variants amid Iran-Israel conflict

 | 

U.S. CISA urges to immediately patch Microsoft SharePoint flaw adding it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

Microsoft issues emergency patches for SharePoint zero-days exploited in "ToolShell" attacks

 | 

SharePoint zero-day CVE-2025-53770 actively exploited in the wild

 | 

Singapore warns China-linked group UNC3886 targets its critical infrastructure

 | 

U.S. CISA adds Fortinet FortiWeb flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

SECURITY AFFAIRS MALWARE NEWSLETTER ROUND 54

 | 

Security Affairs newsletter Round 533 by Pierluigi Paganini – INTERNATIONAL EDITION

 | 

Radiology Associates of Richmond data breach impacts 1.4 million people

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • Breaking News
  • Security
  • KeePass fixed the bug that allows the extraction of the cleartext master password

KeePass fixed the bug that allows the extraction of the cleartext master password

Pierluigi Paganini June 05, 2023

KeePass addressed the CVE-2023-32784 bug that allows the extraction of the cleartext master password from the memory of the client.

KeePass has addressed the CVE-2023-32784 vulnerability, which allowed the retrieval of the clear-text master password from the client’s memory.

KeePass is a free and open-source software used to securely manage passwords. It functions as a digital “safe” where users can store and organize their sensitive information, including passwords, credit card numbers, notes, and other sensitive information. KeePass encrypts the data using a master key or master password that you need to provide in order to access the stored information.

The company fixed the bug with the release of KeePass version 2.54.

KeyPass 2.5.4

In mid-May, security researcher Vdohney released a PoC tool called KeePass 2.X Master Password Dumper that allows retrieving the master password for KeePass.

The expert explained that the tool exploits the unpatched CVE-2023-32784 flaw to retrieve the master password from the memory of KeePass 2.x versions.

The problem stems from the use of a custom-developed text box (‘SecureTextBoxEx’) for password entry in the KeePass 2.X. This text box is not only used for the master password entry, but in other places in KeePass as well, like password edit boxes allowing an attacker to use it to recover their contents.

For every character typed, a leftover string is created in memory.

“Because of how .NET works, it is nearly impossible to get rid of it once it gets created. For example, when “Password” is typed, it will result in these leftover strings: •a, ••s, •••s, ••••w, •••••o, ••••••r, •••••••d.” “The POC application searches the dump for these patterns and offers a likely password character for each position in the password.” reads the post published by the Vdohney.

The success of the attack depends on how the password was typed and how many passwords were typed per session. The expert explained that even if there are multiple passwords per session or typos, the way .NET CLR allocates these strings means that they are likely to be nicely ordered in memory. For example, if the user typed three different passwords, the attacker is likely to get three candidates for each character position in that order, allowing to recover all three passwords.

The researchers pointed out that the password can be retrieved only when it has been typed on a keyboard, not copied from a clipboard. 

The most recent release of the popular password manager utilizes a Windows API to handle data from text boxes, effectively preventing the creation of managed strings that could be extracted from memory.

Users that cannot upgrade their installs are recommended to:

  • Change the master password
  • Delete hibernation file
  • Delete pagefile/swapfile
  • Overwrite deleted data on the HDD to prevent carving (e.g. Cipher with /w on Windows)
  • Restart the computer

Or just overwrite their HDD and do a fresh install of the OS.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, KeePass)


facebook linkedin twitter

Hacking hacking news information security news IT Information Security KeePass Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini July 24, 2025
DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini July 24, 2025
Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    DSPM & AI Are Booming: $17.87B and $4.8T Markets by 2033

    Security / July 24, 2025

    Stealth backdoor found in WordPress mu-Plugins folder

    Malware / July 24, 2025

    U.S. CISA adds CrushFTP, Google Chromium, and SysAid flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 24, 2025

    U.S. CISA urges FCEB agencies to fix two Microsoft SharePoint flaws immediately and added them to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Hacking / July 23, 2025

    Sophos fixed two critical Sophos Firewall vulnerabilities

    Security / July 23, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT