OSEC

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Insecure Ids - Need explanation

susam_palyahoo.co.in
Date: Mon Apr 17 2006 - 11:18:31 CDT


This is an extract from OWASP.

Insecure Id’s – Most web sites use some form of id, key, or index as a way to reference users, roles, content, objects, or functions. If an attacker can guess these id’s, and the supplied values are not validated to ensure the are authorized for the current user, the attacker can exercise the access control scheme freely to see what they can access. Web applications should not rely on the secrecy of any id’s for protection.

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Can anyone please elaborate this part,

"If an attacker can guess these id’s, and the supplied values are not validated to ensure the are authorized for the current user, the attacker can exercise the access control scheme freely to see what they can access."

I have never used such ids, indexes or keys when I developed authentication systems to reference users or roles. What kind of ids or keys are we talking about? How can an attacker use a guessed id?

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