This vulnerability occurs when a system grants a user, role, or process a specific permission that can be misused to perform dangerous, unintended actions. The permission itself is correctly assigned, but its scope is too broad or allows for unsafe operations.
At its core, this weakness is about over-privilege. A system might correctly identify that a user needs to edit files, but if the associated 'edit' permission also allows them to overwrite critical system files or execute code, the privilege is dangerously defined. Developers often make this mistake by using coarse-grained permissions that bundle safe and unsafe actions together, or by not considering all the destructive ways a seemingly benign right could be exploited. To prevent this, implement the principle of least privilege by defining permissions based on specific, safe actions rather than broad capabilities. Audit your authorization logic to ensure each granted right cannot be chained or used in an unexpected context to cause harm. Security testing should explicitly check if assigned privileges can be leveraged to bypass security controls or perform actions outside the user's intended role.
Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
A user can access restricted functionality and/or sensitive information that may include administrative functionality and user accounts.
Strategy: Environment Hardening
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