Assuming a user with a given identity, authorization is the process of determining whether that user can access a given resource, based on the user's privileges and any permissions or other access-control specifications that apply to the resource.
When access control checks are not applied consistently - or not at all - users are able to access data or perform actions that they should not be allowed to perform. This can lead to a wide range of problems, including information exposures, denial of service, and arbitrary code execution.
| Impact | Details |
|---|---|
|
Read Application Data; Read Files or Directories |
Scope: Confidentiality
An attacker could read sensitive data, either by reading the data directly from a data store that is not properly restricted, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality to read the data.
|
|
Modify Application Data; Modify Files or Directories |
Scope: Integrity
An attacker could modify sensitive data, either by writing the data directly to a data store that is not properly restricted, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality to write the data.
|
|
Gain Privileges or Assume Identity |
Scope: Access Control
An attacker could gain privileges by modifying or reading critical data directly, or by accessing insufficiently-protected, privileged functionality.
|
| Phase(s) | Mitigation |
|---|---|
|
Architecture and Design |
Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role. |
|
Architecture and Design |
Ensure that you perform access control checks related to your business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that you apply to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor.
|
|
Architecture and Design |
Strategy: Libraries or Frameworks |
|
Architecture and Design |
For web applications, make sure that the access control mechanism is enforced correctly at the server side on every page. Users should not be able to access any unauthorized functionality or information by simply requesting direct access to that page. One way to do this is to ensure that all pages containing sensitive information are not cached, and that all such pages restrict access to requests that are accompanied by an active and authenticated session token associated with a user who has the required permissions to access that page. |
|
System Configuration; Installation |
Use the access control capabilities of your operating system and server environment and define your access control lists accordingly. Use a "default deny" policy when defining these ACLs.
|
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChildOf | Pillar Pillar - a weakness that is the most abstract type of weakness and represents a theme for all class/base/variant weaknesses related to it. A Pillar is different from a Category as a Pillar is still technically a type of weakness that describes a mistake, while a Category represents a common characteristic used to group related things. | 284 | Improper Access Control |
| ParentOf | Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 552 | Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties |
| ParentOf | Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. | 732 | Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource |
| ParentOf | Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. | 862 | Missing Authorization |
| ParentOf | Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. | 863 | Incorrect Authorization |
| ParentOf | Variant Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 926 | Improper Export of Android Application Components |
| ParentOf | Variant Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 927 | Use of Implicit Intent for Sensitive Communication |
| ParentOf | Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 1230 | Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Metadata |
| ParentOf | Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 1256 | Improper Restriction of Software Interfaces to Hardware Features |
| ParentOf | Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 1297 | Unprotected Confidential Information on Device is Accessible by OSAT Vendors |
| ParentOf | Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. | 1328 | Security Version Number Mutable to Older Versions |
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Category Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1011 | Authorize Actors |
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChildOf | Pillar Pillar - a weakness that is the most abstract type of weakness and represents a theme for all class/base/variant weaknesses related to it. A Pillar is different from a Category as a Pillar is still technically a type of weakness that describes a mistake, while a Category represents a common characteristic used to group related things. | 284 | Improper Access Control |
| Phase | Note |
|---|---|
| Implementation |
REALIZATION: This weakness is caused during implementation of an architectural security tactic. A developer may introduce authorization weaknesses because of a lack of understanding about the underlying technologies. For example, a developer may assume that attackers cannot modify certain inputs such as headers or cookies. |
| Architecture and Design |
Authorization weaknesses may arise when a single-user application is ported to a multi-user environment. |
| Operation |
Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)
Web Server (Often Prevalent)
Database Server (Often Prevalent)
Example 1
This function runs an arbitrary SQL query on a given database, returning the result of the query.
While this code is careful to avoid SQL Injection, the function does not confirm the user sending the query is authorized to do so. An attacker may be able to obtain sensitive employee information from the database.
Example 2
The following program could be part of a bulletin board system that allows users to send private messages to each other. This program intends to authenticate the user before deciding whether a private message should be displayed. Assume that LookupMessageObject() ensures that the $id argument is numeric, constructs a filename based on that id, and reads the message details from that file. Also assume that the program stores all private messages for all users in the same directory.
While the program properly exits if authentication fails, it does not ensure that the message is addressed to the user. As a result, an authenticated attacker could provide any arbitrary identifier and read private messages that were intended for other users.
One way to avoid this problem would be to ensure that the "to" field in the message object matches the username of the authenticated user.
Note: this is a curated list of examples for users to understand the variety of ways in which this weakness can be introduced. It is not a complete list of all CVEs that are related to this CWE entry.
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
|
Go-based continuous deployment product does not check that a user has certain privileges to update or create an app, allowing adversaries to read sensitive repository information
|
|
|
Web application does not restrict access to admin scripts, allowing authenticated users to reset administrative passwords.
|
|
|
Web application does not restrict access to admin scripts, allowing authenticated users to modify passwords of other users.
|
|
|
Web application stores database file under the web root with insufficient access control (CWE-219), allowing direct request.
|
|
|
Terminal server does not check authorization for guest access.
|
|
|
Database server does not use appropriate privileges for certain sensitive operations.
|
|
|
Gateway uses default "Allow" configuration for its authorization settings.
|
|
|
Chain: product does not properly interpret a configuration option for a system group, allowing users to gain privileges.
|
|
|
Chain: SNMP product does not properly parse a configuration option for which hosts are allowed to connect, allowing unauthorized IP addresses to connect.
|
|
|
System monitoring software allows users to bypass authorization by creating custom forms.
|
|
|
Chain: reliance on client-side security (CWE-602) allows attackers to bypass authorization using a custom client.
|
|
|
Chain: product does not properly handle wildcards in an authorization policy list, allowing unintended access.
|
|
|
Content management system does not check access permissions for private files, allowing others to view those files.
|
|
|
ACL-based protection mechanism treats negative access rights as if they are positive, allowing bypass of intended restrictions.
|
|
|
Product does not check the ACL of a page accessed using an "include" directive, allowing attackers to read unauthorized files.
|
|
|
Default ACL list for a DNS server does not set certain ACLs, allowing unauthorized DNS queries.
|
|
|
Product relies on the X-Forwarded-For HTTP header for authorization, allowing unintended access by spoofing the header.
|
|
|
OS kernel does not check for a certain privilege before setting ACLs for files.
|
|
|
Chain: file-system code performs an incorrect comparison (CWE-697), preventing default ACLs from being properly applied.
|
|
|
Chain: product does not properly check the result of a reverse DNS lookup because of operator precedence (CWE-783), allowing bypass of DNS-based access restrictions.
|
| Method | Details |
|---|---|
|
Automated Static Analysis |
Automated static analysis is useful for detecting commonly-used idioms for authorization. A tool may be able to analyze related configuration files, such as .htaccess in Apache web servers, or detect the usage of commonly-used authorization libraries. Generally, automated static analysis tools have difficulty detecting custom authorization schemes. In addition, the software's design may include some functionality that is accessible to any user and does not require an authorization check; an automated technique that detects the absence of authorization may report false positives. Effectiveness: Limited |
|
Automated Dynamic Analysis |
Automated dynamic analysis may find many or all possible interfaces that do not require authorization, but manual analysis is required to determine if the lack of authorization violates business logic
|
|
Manual Analysis |
This weakness can be detected using tools and techniques that require manual (human) analysis, such as penetration testing, threat modeling, and interactive tools that allow the tester to record and modify an active session. Specifically, manual static analysis is useful for evaluating the correctness of custom authorization mechanisms. Effectiveness: Moderate Note:These may be more effective than strictly automated techniques. This is especially the case with weaknesses that are related to design and business rules. However, manual efforts might not achieve desired code coverage within limited time constraints. |
|
Manual Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode |
According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage:
Effectiveness: SOAR Partial |
|
Dynamic Analysis with Automated Results Interpretation |
According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage:
Effectiveness: SOAR Partial |
|
Dynamic Analysis with Manual Results Interpretation |
According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage:
Effectiveness: SOAR Partial |
|
Manual Static Analysis - Source Code |
According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage:
Effectiveness: SOAR Partial |
|
Automated Static Analysis - Source Code |
According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage:
Effectiveness: SOAR Partial |
|
Architecture or Design Review |
According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective:
Cost effective for partial coverage:
Effectiveness: High |
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 254 | 7PK - Security Features |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 721 | OWASP Top Ten 2007 Category A10 - Failure to Restrict URL Access |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 723 | OWASP Top Ten 2004 Category A2 - Broken Access Control |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 753 | 2009 Top 25 - Porous Defenses |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 803 | 2010 Top 25 - Porous Defenses |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 817 | OWASP Top Ten 2010 Category A8 - Failure to Restrict URL Access |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 935 | OWASP Top Ten 2013 Category A7 - Missing Function Level Access Control |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 945 | SFP Secondary Cluster: Insecure Resource Access |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1031 | OWASP Top Ten 2017 Category A5 - Broken Access Control |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1345 | OWASP Top Ten 2021 Category A01:2021 - Broken Access Control |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1382 | ICS Operations (& Maintenance): Emerging Energy Technologies |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1396 | Comprehensive Categorization: Access Control |
| Usage |
DISCOURAGED
(this CWE ID should not be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities)
|
| Reason | Abstraction |
|
Rationale |
CWE-285 is high-level and lower-level CWEs can frequently be used instead. It is a level-1 Class (i.e., a child of a Pillar). |
|
Comments |
Look at CWE-285's children and consider mapping to CWEs such as CWE-862: Missing Authorization, CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization, CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource, or others. |
|
Suggestions |
| Mapped Taxonomy Name | Node ID | Fit | Mapped Node Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Pernicious Kingdoms | Missing Access Control | ||
| OWASP Top Ten 2007 | A10 | CWE More Specific | Failure to Restrict URL Access |
| OWASP Top Ten 2004 | A2 | CWE More Specific | Broken Access Control |
| Software Fault Patterns | SFP35 | Insecure resource access |
| CAPEC-ID | Attack Pattern Name |
|---|---|
| CAPEC-1 | Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs |
| CAPEC-104 | Cross Zone Scripting |
| CAPEC-127 | Directory Indexing |
| CAPEC-13 | Subverting Environment Variable Values |
| CAPEC-17 | Using Malicious Files |
| CAPEC-39 | Manipulating Opaque Client-based Data Tokens |
| CAPEC-402 | Bypassing ATA Password Security |
| CAPEC-45 | Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links |
| CAPEC-5 | Blue Boxing |
| CAPEC-51 | Poison Web Service Registry |
| CAPEC-59 | Session Credential Falsification through Prediction |
| CAPEC-60 | Reusing Session IDs (aka Session Replay) |
| CAPEC-647 | Collect Data from Registries |
| CAPEC-668 | Key Negotiation of Bluetooth Attack (KNOB) |
| CAPEC-76 | Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls |
| CAPEC-77 | Manipulating User-Controlled Variables |
| CAPEC-87 | Forceful Browsing |
| Submissions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Date | Submitter | Organization | |
|
2006年07月19日
(CWE Draft 3, 2006年07月19日) |
7 Pernicious Kingdoms | ||
| Modifications | |||
| Modification Date | Modifier | Organization | |
|
2025年09月09日
(CWE 4.18, 2025年09月09日) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Detection_Factors, References | |||
| 2023年06月29日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Mapping_Notes | |||
| 2023年04月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated References, Relationships | |||
| 2023年01月31日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Description, Potential_Mitigations | |||
| 2022年10月13日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Observed_Examples | |||
| 2022年04月28日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2021年10月28日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2021年07月20日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Related_Attack_Patterns | |||
| 2021年03月15日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Alternate_Terms | |||
| 2020年12月10日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2020年08月20日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2020年02月24日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated References, Relationships | |||
| 2019年06月20日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships | |||
| 2019年01月03日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Related_Attack_Patterns | |||
| 2018年03月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated References, Relationships | |||
| 2017年11月08日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Applicable_Platforms, Modes_of_Introduction, References, Relationships | |||
| 2015年12月07日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2014年07月30日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Detection_Factors, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings | |||
| 2013年07月17日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2012年10月30日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Potential_Mitigations | |||
| 2012年05月11日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Demonstrative_Examples, Potential_Mitigations, References, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships | |||
| 2011年06月01日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Common_Consequences, Observed_Examples, Relationships | |||
| 2011年03月29日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Background_Details, Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Name, Relationships | |||
| 2011年03月24日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| Changed name and description; clarified difference between "access control" and "authorization." | |||
| 2010年09月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Description | |||
| 2010年06月21日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Common_Consequences, References, Relationships | |||
| 2010年04月05日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Potential_Mitigations | |||
| 2010年02月16日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Alternate_Terms, Detection_Factors, Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships | |||
| 2009年12月28日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Applicable_Platforms, Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples, Detection_Factors, Modes_of_Introduction, Observed_Examples, Relationships | |||
| 2009年10月29日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Type | |||
| 2009年07月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2009年05月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Description, Related_Attack_Patterns | |||
| 2009年03月10日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Potential_Mitigations | |||
| 2009年01月12日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Common_Consequences, Description, Likelihood_of_Exploit, Name, Other_Notes, Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships | |||
| 2008年09月08日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships, Other_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings | |||
| 2008年08月15日 | Veracode | ||
| Suggested OWASP Top Ten 2004 mapping | |||
| 2008年07月01日 | Eric Dalci | Cigital | |
| updated Time_of_Introduction | |||
| Previous Entry Names | |||
| Change Date | Previous Entry Name | ||
| 2009年01月12日 | Missing or Inconsistent Access Control | ||
| 2011年03月29日 | Improper Access Control (Authorization) | ||
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