vBulletin
HIGH RISKData breach — November 2015
In November 2015, the forum software maker vBulletin suffered a serious data breach. The attack lead to the release of both forum user and customer accounts totalling almost 519k records. The breach included email addresses, birth dates, security questions and answers for customers and salted hashes of passwords for both sources.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the vBulletin data breach?
In November 2015, the forum software maker vBulletin suffered a serious data breach. The attack lead to the release of both forum user and customer accounts totalling almost 519k records. The breach included email addresses, birth dates, security questions and answers for customers and salted hashes of passwords for both sources.
The exposed data included 9 types of personal information. Because passwords were exposed, users who reused their password on other sites are at particular risk. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was vBulletin hacked?
Yes. vBulletin was breached in November 2015. The breach exposed 518,966 records including dates of birth, email addresses, homepage urls. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the vBulletin breach so dangerous?
The vBulletin breach exposed 518,966 records — that is a large number of compromised accounts. The combination of dates of birth, email addresses, homepage urls makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Because passwords were exposed, attackers can use credential stuffing to automatically test your vBulletin password against hundreds of other websites. If you reused your password anywhere, those accounts are now at risk. Read more about what happens to your data after a breach.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the vBulletin breach?
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Homepage URLs — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Instant messenger identities — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
IP addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Security questions and answers — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Spoken languages — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Website activity — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Is the vBulletin breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the vBulletin breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2015 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your vBulletin password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the vBulletin breach
Approximately 518,966 user records were exposed in the vBulletin breach in November 2015.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your vBulletin password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full vBulletin dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your vBulletin password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the vBulletin breach?
The vBulletin data breach affected approximately 518,966 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with vBulletin or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the vBulletin breach
Change your vBulletin password immediately
Go to vBulletin and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on vBulletin and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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