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Companies House Suspends WebFiling Over Reported Back-Button Bypass Risk

A simple navigation loophole reportedly let logged-in users access other companies’ dashboards.

Overview

  • Companies House said it closed the online portal to investigate the issue and apologised to users.
  • The reported exploit let a user enter another company’s number and use the browser back button to bypass an authentication code.
  • Reporting says directors’ personal details, including home addresses, emails and full dates of birth, could be viewed or altered.
  • Dan Neidle of Tax Policy Associates flagged the flaw after a tip from John Hewitt at corporate services provider Ghost Mail.
  • The register holds records for more than five million firms, including major FTSE companies, raising concerns about fraud and false filings.