Title: Vertical Privilege Escalation
Vertical privilege escalation happens when regular users access admin-only areas due to weak access control and vice versa.
Example:
A user types example.com/admin. If there’s no restriction, they can access the admin panel without permission.
Key Points:
-
Direct URL Access: Typing sensitive URLs like
/admincan bypass security. - robots.txt Exposure: Can accidentally reveal admin URLs.
- Brute Force: Attackers guess URLs to find admin pages.
Dangers:
- Unauthorized changes, data access, or system takeover.
Prevention:
- Use strict role-based access controls.
- Always secure sensitive areas, don’t rely on hidden URLs.
Title: The Flaw of Security by Obscurity
Hiding sensitive functionality behind a hard-to-guess URL isn’t true protection. This is known as "security by obscurity."
Example:
An admin URL like insecure-website.com/administrator-panel-yb556 might seem secure because it's not guessable. But if the URL is in the JavaScript, any user can inspect the code and find it.
Key Points:
- Hidden URLs aren’t real security.
- Visible in Code: Scripts or code can leak sensitive URLs to regular users.
Solution:
Always enforce strict access control; never rely on hiding URLs.
Acknowledgment: This document references information from PortSwigger Web Security and ChatGPT.
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