What is Access Control in Cybersecurity? 🤔
Access control is a security mechanism that decides who can view, modify, or delete data.
When access control is not properly configured (Broken Access Control), attackers exploit it to steal, modify, or delete sensitive user data. This makes BAC one of the most dangerous OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities.
⚠️ Types of Broken Access Control Vulnerabilities
- Horizontal Privilege Escalation 🚥 Example: Person A and Person B both have the same permission level (say, viewing only their bank info). But with BAC flaws, Person A can also view or change Person B’s bank details—a clear violation of data privacy.
- *Vertical Privilege Escalation *🚦 A normal user (low-level) exploits BAC to gain admin-level access, leading to severe security breaches such as deleting accounts or modifying system data.
- Context-Dependent Privilege Escalation 🎭 (aka the smart hacker move) Example: A user adds items to their cart and checks out. With BAC issues, they can manipulate the payment amount. Another case: performing actions in the wrong sequence (like skipping payment) also arises due to broken access control.
😟 Why is Broken Access Control Dangerous?
• Sensitive data exposure → Attackers can view, modify, or steal confidential information.
• Account takeover risks _→ Hackers can impersonate other users.
• _DDoS attacks using stolen data → Fun fact: attackers may even weaponize your stolen data to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
🛡️ *How to Prevent Broken Access Control *(Best Practices)
- Continuous Security Testing – Regularly identify & patch access control flaws.
- CORS Protocol Usage – Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) properly to prevent unauthorized requests.
- RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) 🏃🏻➡️ – Assign permissions based on roles, reducing privilege misuse.
- _Permission-Based Access Control _🔛 – Ensure systems check if a user role has required permissions.
- Mandatory Access Control (MAC) ⚔️ – Limit sensitive data access only to administrators, based on data classification & sensitivity. ________________________________________
✅ Conclusion
Broken Access Control is not just a theoretical risk—it’s a real-world cybersecurity threat recognized in the OWASP Top 10 (2025).
By implementing strong access control mechanisms, organizations can:
✔️ Protect sensitive data 💾
✔️ Prevent privilege escalation 🚫
✔️ Strengthen overall cybersecurity posture 🔐
💪 Build strong access control. Stay worry-free 😮💨.
👉 Thanks for reading! If you found this helpful, drop your thoughts in the comments (❁´◡`❁).
🔥 What cybersecurity topic should I cover next? 😅
Top comments (0)