Improper Privilege Management, as classified under CWE-269, occurs when a software application improperly manages or enforces access control policies, allowing unauthorised users to perform restricted actions. This weakness can lead to severe consequences, such as data breaches, privilege escalation, and compromise of system integrity.
Missing Authorisation, identified by CWE-862, refers to a software weakness where an application fails to verify if a user is permitted to access specific resources or perform certain actions. While authentication establishes identity, authorisation ensures that the authenticated user has the necessary permissions. When authorisation is missing, attackers can exploit this oversight to access sensitive data, perform unauthorised transactions, or disrupt services.
Insecure authorisation occurs when an application fails to properly enforce access control mechanisms, allowing unauthorised users or attackers to access resources, perform actions, or manipulate data without appropriate permissions. Unlike authentication, which verifies a user’s identity, authorisation determines what an authenticated user is allowed to do.