Lab: User role controlled by request parameter
Summary: PortSwigger's Web Security Academy lab presents an admin panel at /admin that identifies administrators using a forgeable cookie rather than a server-side check. After logging in as wiener:peter, the response sets Admin=false, and changing it to Admin=true grants access to the panel and lets the user delete carlos.
What's compelling: The entire authorization decision here rests on a cookie value the client can edit, so anyone who notices the Admin parameter can grant themselves administrative access and delete accounts.
Read the original at PortSwigger Research ↗
- Topics
- Vulnerabilities & Patching
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