Microsoft Password Reset Portal Can Leak Account Verification Details
Microsoft's password reset portal can leak valid account details and recovery methods.
Microsoft's Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) portal can reveal valid user accounts and their registered recovery methods without requiring authentication. Researchers also found that certain tenant configurations could expose likely administrator accounts. Attackers could leverage this information for targeted phishing and social engineering attacks.
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The lesson from this incident
Full lessonMicrosoft's Self-Service Password Reset portal exposes valid usernames and registered recovery methods to unauthenticated requestors, violating the principle of least privilege at the authentication boundary. This information disclosure flaw allows attackers to enumerate valid accounts and identify likely administrator targets without any credentials. The leaked recovery method details (e.g., masked email or phone) provide a roadmap for highly convincing phishing and social engineering campaigns. This matters because account enumeration is often the critical first step in credential-based attacks, and exposing admin accounts significantly elevates organizational risk. Organizations relying on SSPR as a security convenience feature may unknowingly be broadening their attack surface.
What helps against this
How we list vendors- Phishing-resistant MFA
A stolen password, or a user who taps Approve on a push prompt, is no longer enough to log in.
- Identity threat detection and response (ITDR)
Attackers who log in with real, stolen credentials get noticed.
- Security awareness training and phishing simulation
People recognise and report attacks instead of falling for them.