How Bitwarden strengthens security with bug bounty
Bitwarden turns open-source scrutiny into proactive defense, combining third-party audits with a global security researcher community to improve signal quality, accelerate remediation, and deepen customer confidence.
The shifting battleground for trust
Bitwarden equips enterprises and individuals with the power to securely manage and share information online with trusted open source security solutions. Built on pillars of transparency, security, and community collaboration, Bitwarden differentiates itself from legacy password managers by making all of its source code publicly available on GitHub.
By embracing an open-source model and end-to-end encryption, Bitwarden ensures that not even the company itself can access user data. This “zero knowledge” architecture underpins trust in the platform while enabling continuous peer review from developers, researchers, and third-party auditors worldwide.
In addition to conducting rigorous third-party audits and soliciting feedback through GitHub and community forums, Bitwarden sought to strengthen its efforts with a scalable, continuous, and diverse approach to identifying vulnerabilities.
User awareness
Despite the simplicity of strong passwords, surveys revealed that weak and reused passwords remain the biggest threat. Even among developers, 65% admitted to hardcoding secrets instead of using a secrets manager.
Despite the simplicity of strong passwords, surveys revealed that weak and reused passwords remain the biggest threat. Even among developers, 65% admitted to hardcoding secrets instead of using a secrets manager.
Evolving threats
With AI-powered attacks on the rise, staying ahead requires proactive, continuous defenses.
With AI-powered attacks on the rise, staying ahead requires proactive, continuous defenses.
Expansive attack surface
Supporting multiple browsers, mobile apps, operating systems, and self-hosting options increases exposure.
Supporting multiple browsers, mobile apps, operating systems, and self-hosting options increases exposure.
Stick with it. Open source makes it easier for hackers to find vulnerabilities, but that transparency also builds trust. When people can see fixes directly in code and know issues are disclosed and resolved openly, it strengthens confidence in the product.
The biggest value is creativity. These are individuals with diverse skill sets, tools, and processes we wouldn’t necessarily think of ourselves.
Bitwarden's program on HackerOne
Bitwarden turned to HackerOne to expand its security testing efforts beyond audits and community reporting channels.
Key reasons for choosing HackerOne:
- Continuous testing: Ethical security researchers provide ongoing validation as new features and updates roll out.
- Diverse expertise: A global community of researchers applies unique skills, tools, and perspectives.
- Community alignment: Engaging researchers through rewards aligns with Bitwarden’s open-source, collaborative ethos.
- Scalable coverage: As Bitwarden’s portfolio expanded to include Secrets Manager and Passwordless.dev, the program scaled with it.
- Ease of use: HackerOne’s platform
Increased Creativity in Testing
HackerOne’s diverse security researcher community introduced testing approaches Bitwarden’s internal teams may not have considered. This creativity proved invaluable given the company’s broad attack surface.
Faster Vulnerability Discovery and Remediation
- A notable example included the discovery of a vulnerability triggered by a Microsoft Windows Update, which allowed unauthorized expanded access to cryptographic data. HackerOne researchers flagged the issue quickly, enabling Bitwarden to patch it before exploitation.
- Open source transparency combined with HackerOne submissions has led to higher-quality reports and faster remediation cycles.
Community Engagement and Trust
- Bitwarden partnered with a hacker club in Greece for a two-week event focused on its mobile apps, resulting in accepted vulnerabilities and enhanced bounties.
- Bug bounties strengthen Bitwarden’s trust with customers, as vulnerabilities and fixes are handled openly.
AI-driven efficiency with measurable ROI
By using HackerOne’s AI assistant (“Hai”) to summarize findings, generate reports, and track trends, Bitwarden speeds triage and improves leadership communication—while Return on Mitigation quantifies value (e.g., a $1,000 bounty averting losses in the hundreds of thousands).
The future of security at Bitwarden
Bitwarden sees HackerOne as an essential part of its broader security strategy alongside audits, compliance, and open-source reviews. Looking ahead, the company is:
- Exploring AI-powered tools for vulnerability discovery and remediation.
- Advocating for improved vetting of bounty submissions to further boost quality.
- Continuing to expand community partnerships to scale collaborative security efforts.
