CWE-451
Allowed-with-ReviewUser Interface (UI) Misrepresentation of Critical Information
Abstraction: Class · Status: Draft
The user interface (UI) does not properly represent critical information to the user, allowing the information - or its source - to be obscured or spoofed. This is often a component in phishing attacks.
378 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.
GHSA-RG69-Q942-29MW
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-11-07 00:30 – Updated: 2025-11-07 15:31Inappropriate implementation in Media in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 141.0.7390.54 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform domain spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-11212"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-11-06T22:15:39Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in Media in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 141.0.7390.54 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform domain spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)",
"id": "GHSA-rg69-q942-29mw",
"modified": "2025-11-07T15:31:29Z",
"published": "2025-11-07T00:30:30Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-11212"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2025/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_30.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/420734141"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RGF9-4HXH-9736
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2024-05-07 21:31 – Updated: 2024-07-03 18:39In multiple functions of NotificationManagerService.java, there is a possible way to not show a toast message when a clipboard message has been accessed. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2024-23708"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2024-05-07T21:15:08Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "In multiple functions of NotificationManagerService.java, there is a possible way to not show a toast message when a clipboard message has been accessed. This could lead to local escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation.",
"id": "GHSA-rgf9-4hxh-9736",
"modified": "2024-07-03T18:39:48Z",
"published": "2024-05-07T21:31:46Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-23708"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://android.googlesource.com/platform/frameworks/base/+/0c095c365ede36257e829769194f9596a598e560"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2024-05-01"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RGW2-264P-H9J3
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-20 21:31 – Updated: 2026-05-20 21:31Inappropriate implementation in UI in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 148.0.7778.179 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Critical)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-9110"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-05-20T20:16:41Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in UI in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 148.0.7778.179 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Critical)",
"id": "GHSA-rgw2-264p-h9j3",
"modified": "2026-05-20T21:31:32Z",
"published": "2026-05-20T21:31:32Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9110"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/05/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0841193308.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/503551154"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RJ79-M8W5-GPW8
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-02-11 21:30 – Updated: 2026-02-12 18:30Inappropriate implementation in File input in Google Chrome prior to 145.0.7632.45 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-2320"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-02-11T19:15:52Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in File input in Google Chrome prior to 145.0.7632.45 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)",
"id": "GHSA-rj79-m8w5-gpw8",
"modified": "2026-02-12T18:30:21Z",
"published": "2026-02-11T21:30:40Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-2320"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/02/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_10.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/435684924"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RJP5-8CGW-RXGG
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-01 00:34 – Updated: 2026-07-01 18:31Inappropriate implementation in WebXR in Google Chrome prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Low)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-14132"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-06-30T23:17:24Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in WebXR in Google Chrome prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Low)",
"id": "GHSA-rjp5-8cgw-rxgg",
"modified": "2026-07-01T18:31:41Z",
"published": "2026-07-01T00:34:11Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-14132"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/06/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0175352312.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/514039492"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RRCM-99R9-VQPR
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-01 00:34 – Updated: 2026-07-01 15:35Inappropriate implementation in Safe Browsing in Google Chrome on iOS prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-13912"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-06-30T23:17:05Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in Safe Browsing in Google Chrome on iOS prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)",
"id": "GHSA-rrcm-99r9-vqpr",
"modified": "2026-07-01T15:35:02Z",
"published": "2026-07-01T00:34:06Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13912"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/06/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0175352312.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/508259433"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RRWF-2JCV-26F5
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-11-07 00:30 – Updated: 2025-11-07 15:31Inappropriate implementation in Omnibox in Google Chrome on Android prior to 141.0.7390.54 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform domain spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-11213"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-11-06T22:15:39Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in Omnibox in Google Chrome on Android prior to 141.0.7390.54 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform domain spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)",
"id": "GHSA-rrwf-2jcv-26f5",
"modified": "2025-11-07T15:31:29Z",
"published": "2025-11-07T00:30:30Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-11213"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2025/09/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_30.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/443408317"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-RW6M-2GVW-353G
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-11-14 03:30 – Updated: 2025-11-14 18:31Inappropriate implementation in Fullscreen in Google Chrome prior to 128.0.6613.84 allowed a remote attacker to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2024-13178"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2025-11-14T03:15:55Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in Fullscreen in Google Chrome prior to 128.0.6613.84 allowed a remote attacker to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)",
"id": "GHSA-rw6m-2gvw-353g",
"modified": "2025-11-14T18:31:37Z",
"published": "2025-11-14T03:30:54Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-13178"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2024/08/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_21.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/40068607"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-V3WM-QF9P-C549
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-06-15 17:32 – Updated: 2026-06-15 17:32Description
Symfony\Component\HtmlSanitizer\TextSanitizer\UrlSanitizer::parse() rejects URLs containing raw Unicode explicit-direction BiDi formatting characters (U+202A–U+202E, U+2066–U+2069) as a defense against visual-spoofing of the rendered href. The check covers only the raw UTF-8 forms of those code points: the percent-encoded forms (%E2%80%AE for U+202E, %E2%81%A6 for U+2066, etc.) are not matched by the deny regex, survive league/uri's parse/build cycle, and are re-emitted unchanged in the sanitized URL. Any downstream consumer that decodes the link before display — phishing-detection filters that compare urldecode($href) against a domain allow-list, audit-log dashboards that show a decoded form for readability, hover-tooltip previews, federated/syndicated content where the decoder lives on the consuming side — restores the BiDi character and the visual spoof that the original defense was filed to prevent.
The same UrlSanitizer::parse() carries an ASCII-only /\s/ whitespace check (no /u modifier) intended as a backstop against malformed URLs. Without the /u modifier, PCRE's \s matches only ASCII whitespace, so Unicode whitespace characters — NBSP (U+00A0), the zero-width no-break space / BOM (U+FEFF), line/paragraph separators (U+2028, U+2029), ogham space (U+1680), the U+2000–U+200A en/em quad family, narrow / medium / ideographic spaces (U+202F, U+205F, U+3000) and NEL (U+0085) — pass through unchanged in both raw and percent-encoded forms. In hostname positions they enable lookalike spoofs (example<NBSP>.com); in path/query/fragment they enable allow-list drift when a downstream consumer strips whitespace before comparison.
Resolution
UrlSanitizer::parse() now denies BiDi formatting marks together with Unicode whitespace and the zero-width no-break space, in both the raw input and the percent-decoded form of each parsed URL component (user, pass, host, path, query, fragment). ASCII space remains tolerated in path/query/fragment via the existing percent-encoding step.
The patches for this issue are available here for branch 6.4 (and forward-ported to 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1).
Credits
Symfony would like to thank Scott Arciszewski (Trail of Bits) for reporting the issue and Nicolas Grekas for providing the fix.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "symfony/html-sanitizer"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "6.1.0"
},
{
"fixed": "6.4.41"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "symfony/html-sanitizer"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "7.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "7.4.13"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "symfony/html-sanitizer"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "8.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "8.0.13"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "symfony/symfony"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "6.1.0"
},
{
"fixed": "6.4.41"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "symfony/symfony"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "7.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "7.4.13"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
},
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Packagist",
"name": "symfony/symfony"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "8.0.0"
},
{
"fixed": "8.0.13"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-48760"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-1007",
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-06-15T17:32:59Z",
"nvd_published_at": null,
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "### Description\n\n`Symfony\\Component\\HtmlSanitizer\\TextSanitizer\\UrlSanitizer::parse()` rejects URLs containing raw Unicode explicit-direction BiDi formatting characters (U+202A\u2013U+202E, U+2066\u2013U+2069) as a defense against visual-spoofing of the rendered `href`. The check covers only the raw UTF-8 forms of those code points: the percent-encoded forms (`%E2%80%AE` for U+202E, `%E2%81%A6` for U+2066, etc.) are not matched by the deny regex, survive `league/uri`\u0027s parse/build cycle, and are re-emitted unchanged in the sanitized URL. Any downstream consumer that decodes the link before display \u2014 phishing-detection filters that compare `urldecode($href)` against a domain allow-list, audit-log dashboards that show a decoded form for readability, hover-tooltip previews, federated/syndicated content where the decoder lives on the consuming side \u2014 restores the BiDi character and the visual spoof that the original defense was filed to prevent.\n\nThe same `UrlSanitizer::parse()` carries an ASCII-only `/\\s/` whitespace check (no `/u` modifier) intended as a backstop against malformed URLs. Without the `/u` modifier, PCRE\u0027s `\\s` matches only ASCII whitespace, so Unicode whitespace characters \u2014 NBSP (U+00A0), the zero-width no-break space / BOM (U+FEFF), line/paragraph separators (U+2028, U+2029), ogham space (U+1680), the U+2000\u2013U+200A en/em quad family, narrow / medium / ideographic spaces (U+202F, U+205F, U+3000) and NEL (U+0085) \u2014 pass through unchanged in both raw and percent-encoded forms. In hostname positions they enable lookalike spoofs (`example\u003cNBSP\u003e.com`); in path/query/fragment they enable allow-list drift when a downstream consumer strips whitespace before comparison.\n\n### Resolution\n\n`UrlSanitizer::parse()` now denies BiDi formatting marks together with Unicode whitespace and the zero-width no-break space, in both the raw input and the percent-decoded form of each parsed URL component (`user`, `pass`, `host`, `path`, `query`, `fragment`). ASCII space remains tolerated in path/query/fragment via the existing percent-encoding step.\n\nThe patches for this issue are available [here](https://github.com/symfony/symfony/commit/b21a626fd90f5c12d2db432c629eed3e780ba2f8) for branch 6.4 (and forward-ported to 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1).\n\n### Credits\n\nSymfony would like to thank Scott Arciszewski (Trail of Bits) for reporting the issue and Nicolas Grekas for providing the fix.",
"id": "GHSA-v3wm-qf9p-c549",
"modified": "2026-06-15T17:32:59Z",
"published": "2026-06-15T17:32:59Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/symfony/symfony/security/advisories/GHSA-v3wm-qf9p-c549"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/symfony/symfony/commit/b21a626fd90f5c12d2db432c629eed3e780ba2f8"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/html-sanitizer/CVE-2026-48760.yaml"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/symfony/symfony/CVE-2026-48760.yaml"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/symfony/symfony"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://symfony.com/cve-2026-48760"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [],
"summary": "Symfony: HtmlSanitizer URL Parser Deny Gates Underinclusive: Percent-Encoded BiDi Marks and Unicode Whitespace Bypass Visual-Spoofing Defense"
}
GHSA-V68W-64JW-RFJJ
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-01 00:34 – Updated: 2026-07-01 03:35Inappropriate implementation in iOSWeb in Google Chrome on iOS prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-13907"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-451"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-06-30T23:17:04Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Inappropriate implementation in iOSWeb in Google Chrome on iOS prior to 150.0.7871.47 allowed a remote attacker who convinced a user to engage in specific UI gestures to perform UI spoofing via a crafted HTML page. (Chromium security severity: Medium)",
"id": "GHSA-v68w-64jw-rfjj",
"modified": "2026-07-01T03:35:22Z",
"published": "2026-07-01T00:34:05Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-13907"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2026/06/stable-channel-update-for-desktop_0175352312.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://issues.chromium.org/issues/505156685"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Mitigation
Strategy: Input Validation
Perform data validation (e.g. syntax, length, etc.) before interpreting the data.
Mitigation
Strategy: Output Encoding
Create a strategy for presenting information, and plan for how to display unusual characters.
CAPEC-154: Resource Location Spoofing
An adversary deceives an application or user and convinces them to request a resource from an unintended location. By spoofing the location, the adversary can cause an alternate resource to be used, often one that the adversary controls and can be used to help them achieve their malicious goals.
CAPEC-163: Spear Phishing
An adversary targets a specific user or group with a Phishing (CAPEC-98) attack tailored to a category of users in order to have maximum relevance and deceptive capability. Spear Phishing is an enhanced version of the Phishing attack targeted to a specific user or group. The quality of the targeted email is usually enhanced by appearing to come from a known or trusted entity. If the email account of some trusted entity has been compromised the message may be digitally signed. The message will contain information specific to the targeted users that will enhance the probability that they will follow the URL to the compromised site. For example, the message may indicate knowledge of the targets employment, residence, interests, or other information that suggests familiarity. As soon as the user follows the instructions in the message, the attack proceeds as a standard Phishing attack.
CAPEC-164: Mobile Phishing
An adversary targets mobile phone users with a phishing attack for the purpose of soliciting account passwords or sensitive information from the user. Mobile Phishing is a variation of the Phishing social engineering technique where the attack is initiated via a text or SMS message, rather than email. The user is enticed to provide information or visit a compromised web site via this message. Apart from the manner in which the attack is initiated, the attack proceeds as a standard Phishing attack.
CAPEC-173: Action Spoofing
An adversary is able to disguise one action for another and therefore trick a user into initiating one type of action when they intend to initiate a different action. For example, a user might be led to believe that clicking a button will submit a query, but in fact it downloads software. Adversaries may perform this attack through social means, such as by simply convincing a victim to perform the action or relying on a user's natural inclination to do so, or through technical means, such as a clickjacking attack where a user sees one interface but is actually interacting with a second, invisible, interface.
CAPEC-98: Phishing
Phishing is a social engineering technique where an attacker masquerades as a legitimate entity with which the victim might do business in order to prompt the user to reveal some confidential information (very frequently authentication credentials) that can later be used by an attacker. Phishing is essentially a form of information gathering or "fishing" for information.