Unsecured Perforce Servers Expose Sensitive Data From Major Orgs

Summary

Security researcher Morgan Robertson identified over 6,100 internet-exposed Perforce P4 version control servers, of which 1,525 still allow unauthenticated read-only access to source code. The misconfigured instances belonged to major organizations including defense contractors, medical tech firms, law enforcement software vendors, and financial services companies, exposing sensitive IP, credentials, client data, and product schematics. Perforce addressed the issue by disabling the default remote user account and improving documentation after being notified in 2024.

Full text

A researcher has analyzed internet-facing Perforce P4 servers and found that many are still misconfigured, exposing highly sensitive information. Perforce P4 (formerly Helix Core) is a centralized version control platform built to handle the massive data requirements of industries like AAA gaming and semiconductor design. While P4 serves an important role, it can be valuable for threat actors if left unprotected. Australian security researcher Morgan Robertson conducted an analysis of internet-exposed Perforce servers in the spring of 2025 and found 6,122 instances. Of these servers, 72% provided unauthenticated read-only access to source code via a remote user account that had been enabled by default. In addition, 21% of the instances had at least one account with no password set, enabling direct read-write access. Robertson also found at the time that 4% of servers had an unprotected ‘superuser’ account, enabling complete system compromise via command injection. The researcher also discovered that a vast majority of the systems allowed user enumeration and exposed server information by default. Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading. Robertson said some of the unprotected systems belonged to AAA and indie game developers, universities, animation studios, interactive media firms, crypto projects, and manufacturers. The researcher made his findings public on Tuesday, telling SecurityWeek that of the 6,122 public servers initially discovered, 2,826 are still active at their original IP addresses. Of these, 1,525, representing roughly 54%, still allow unauthenticated read-only access to source code via a remote user account. In addition, 501 instances, or 17% of the active servers, still allow completely unauthenticated user enumeration. Robertson told SecurityWeek that some of the affected servers appear to belong to major organizations, including a regional defense contractor, several medical technology providers, a North American law enforcement software vendor, an international industrial automation firm, a North American commercial EV startup, an Asian retail POS and ERP software vendor, and a banking software maker. The servers associated with these companies exposed highly sensitive information, including client information, internal projects, personal information, credentials, source code, and product schematics. The researcher noted that the numbers he shared reflect only publicly exposed infrastructure. “A significant number of Perforce servers sit strictly on internal networks but are deployed with the exact same insecure defaults,” Robertson explained. “This means any bad actor, insider threat, or red team that gains a foothold on a corporate network likely has a direct path to access critical IP or escalate privileges via these systems.” Perforce was notified of the findings roughly one year ago and quickly took action, disabling the remote user by default and updating its documentation to enhance security. “P4 is trusted by some of the world’s most security-conscious teams to manage and safeguard their most valuable IP: source code and binary assets. However, like any advanced system, its effectiveness relies heavily on proper configuration and maintenance,” Perforce said in a May 2025 blog post. It added, “Any server left in a permissive state can create lapses in security hygiene over time, and lead to significant risks. And like any server connected to the internet, you should assume your P4 server will eventually be tested by an attacker.” In addition to notifying Perforce, Robertson has reached out to more than 60 of the affected organizations to warn them about the exposure. Related: Cursor AI Vulnerability Exposed Developer Devices Related: Organizations Warned of Exploited Cisco, Kentico, Zimbra Vulnerabilities Written By Eduard Kovacs Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is senior managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher before starting a career in journalism in 2011. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering. More from Eduard Kovacs Bluesky Disrupted by Sophisticated DDoS AttackNext.js Creator Vercel HackedAnother DraftKings Hacker Sentenced to PrisonRecent Apache ActiveMQ Vulnerability Exploited in the WildZionSiphon Malware Targets ICS in Water FacilitiesOpenAI Widens Access to Cybersecurity Model After Anthropic’s Mythos RevealData Breach at Tennessee Hospital Affects 337,000Microsoft Paid Out $2.3 Million at Zero Day Quest 2026 Hacking Contest Latest News Dozens of Malicious Crypto Apps Land in Apple App StoreProgress Patches Multiple Vulnerabilities in MOVEit WAF, LoadMasterOrganizations Warned of Exploited Cisco, Kentico, Zimbra VulnerabilitiesData Breaches at Healthcare Organizations in Illinois and Texas Affect 600,000$290 Million Kelp DAO Crypto Heist Blamed on North KoreaSerial-to-IP Converter Flaws Expose OT and Healthcare Systems to HackingBritish Scattered Spider Hacker Pleads Guilty in the USHackers Abuse QEMU for Defense Evasion Trending Daily Briefing Newsletter Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts. Webinar: A Step-by-Step Approach to AI Governance April 28, 2026 With "Shadow AI" usage becoming prevalent in organizations, learn how to balance the need for rapid experimentation with the rigorous controls required for enterprise-grade deployment. Register Virtual Event: Threat Detection and Incident Response Summit May 20, 2026 Delve into big-picture strategies to reduce attack surfaces, improve patch management, conduct post-incident forensics, and tools and tricks needed in a modern organization. Register People on the MoveAnti-ransomware platform Halcyon has named Kirstjen Nielsen and Chris Inglis as Strategic Advisors.ThreatModeler has appointed Kevin Gallagher as Chief Executive Officer.Thomas Bain has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer at Silent Push.More People On The MoveExpert Insights Government Can’t Win the Cyber War Without the Private Sector Securing national resilience now depends on faster, deeper partnerships with the private sector. (Steve Durbin) The Hidden ROI of Visibility: Better Decisions, Better Behavior, Better Security Beyond monitoring and compliance, visibility acts as a powerful deterrent, shaping user behavior, improving collaboration, and enabling more accurate, data-driven security decisions. (Joshua Goldfarb) The New Rules of Engagement: Matching Agentic Attack Speed The cybersecurity response to AI-enabled nation-state threats cannot be incremental. It must be architectural. (Nadir Izrael) The Next Cybersecurity Crisis Isn’t Breaches—It’s Data You Can’t Trust Data integrity shouldn’t be seen only through the prism of a technical concern but also as a leadership issue. (Steve Durbin) Why Agentic AI Systems Need Better Governance – Lessons from OpenClaw Agentic AI platforms are shifting from passive recommendation tools to autonomous action-takers with real system access, (Etay Maor) Flipboard Reddit Whatsapp Whatsapp Email

Entities