Department Of State Vulnerability Disclosure

generated: '2026-09-07'
method: searched
probe: true
source: https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-diplomatic-technology/vulnerability-disclosure-policy
summary: >-
  The Department of State publishes a full Vulnerability Disclosure Policy issued by the Bureau of
  Diplomatic Technology, with explicit safe-harbor authorization, a named scope, a coordinated
  disclosure window and two intake channels including a HackerOne program. It is a genuine, current
  disclosure program — it is simply not discoverable where a machine would look for it: there is no
  /.well-known/security.txt on any State host, and the path 301s to an unrelated page (see
  well-known/department-of-state-well-known.yml).
policy:
  - https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-diplomatic-technology/vulnerability-disclosure-policy
contact:
  - vdpsubmission@state.gov
bug_bounty:
  platform: HackerOne
  url: https://hackerone.com/us-department-of-state?type=team
  paid: false
  note: >-
    Listed as a team page, used as the submission portal. The policy does not offer monetary awards;
    it offers legal authorization for good-faith research.
submission_channels:
  - kind: hackerone
    url: https://hackerone.com/us-department-of-state?type=team
  - kind: anonymous-web-form
    url: https://hackerone.com/6b30fb0b-5a38-49c4-b23b-442da04cfb63/embedded_submissions/new
    note: Embedded HackerOne form; the policy offers it for anonymous reporting.
  - kind: email
    target: vdpsubmission@state.gov
    note: Also the address for scope questions and policy feedback.
scope:
  in_scope: >-
    "all Department internet accessible systems and services to include those specified at
    HackerOne" — quoted verbatim from the policy.
  out_of_scope: >-
    Vendor systems. The policy directs those reports to the vendor's own disclosure policy.
  escalation: >-
    Researchers unsure whether a system is in scope are told to contact vdpsubmission@state.gov, or
    the security contact for the domain in the .gov WHOIS at
    https://domains.dotgov.gov/dotgov-web/registration/whois.xhtml, before starting.
safe_harbor: >-
  "If you make a good faith effort to comply with this policy during your security research, we will
  consider your research to be authorized and we will work with you to understand and resolve the
  issue quickly, and Department of State will not recommend or pursue legal action related to your
  research." The Department also commits to making that authorization known to a third party who
  initiates action against a compliant researcher.
timelines:
  acknowledgement: 3 business days when contact information is shared
  coordinated_disclosure_window: typically 100 calendar days before public disclosure
prohibited_testing:
  - Network denial or distributed denial of service (DoS/DDoS) and anything else that impairs access or damages data
  - Physical testing (office access, open doors, tailgating)
  - Social engineering (phishing, vishing) and other non-technical testing
  - High volumes of low-quality reports
  - Using an exploit beyond confirming presence — no exfiltration, no command-line access, no persistence, no pivoting
onward_sharing: >-
  Reports affecting all users of a product may be shared with CISA and handled under its coordinated
  vulnerability disclosure process (https://www.cisa.gov/coordinated-vulnerability-disclosure-process),
  and with other U.S. Government entities where required by law. The Department commits not to share
  a reporter's name or contact information without express permission.
history:
  - version: '1.0'
    date: '2021-03-04'
    description: First issuance
  - version: '1.1'
    date: '2022-12-01'
    description: Updated form for submitting a vulnerability report
regime:
  directive: CISA Binding Operational Directive 20-01
  note: >-
    BOD 20-01 requires federal civilian agencies to publish a VDP and to serve it at
    /.well-known/security.txt. The Department satisfies the policy half and not the discovery half.
evidence:
  - source: https://www.state.gov/bureau-of-diplomatic-technology/vulnerability-disclosure-policy
    kind: disclosure-policy-page
    http_status: 200
    fetched: '2026-09-07'
  - source: https://hackerone.com/us-department-of-state?type=team
    kind: bug-bounty-platform
    http_status: 200
    fetched: '2026-09-07'
  - source: https://www.state.gov/.well-known/security.txt
    kind: security.txt
    http_status: 301
    fetched: '2026-09-07'
    note: Redirects to /state-gov-website-modernization/ — no RFC 9116 document is served.