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Insecure Direct Object Reference Prevention - OWASP Cheat Sheet Series

Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) is a vulnerability that allows attackers to access or modify objects by manipulating identifiers in URLs or parameters due to inadequate access control checks. To mitigate IDOR, it is essential to implement strict access control for each object, avoid exposing identifiers, and use complex identifiers as an additional security measure. Proper permission verification and utilizing session information for user identification are crucial for preventing unauthorized access.

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13 views2 pages

Insecure Direct Object Reference Prevention - OWASP Cheat Sheet Series

Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) is a vulnerability that allows attackers to access or modify objects by manipulating identifiers in URLs or parameters due to inadequate access control checks. To mitigate IDOR, it is essential to implement strict access control for each object, avoid exposing identifiers, and use complex identifiers as an additional security measure. Proper permission verification and utilizing session information for user identification are crucial for preventing unauthorized access.

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3cwe280tj
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Insecure Direct Object Reference Prevention Cheat

Sheet

Introduction
Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) is a vulnerability that arises when attackers can access or
modify objects by manipulating identi?ers used in a web application's URLs or parameters. It occurs
due to missing access control checks, which fail to verify whether a user should be allowed to access
speci?c data.

Examples
For instance, when a user accesses their pro?le, the application might generate a URL like this:

https://example.org/users/123

The 123 in the URL is a direct reference to the user's record in the database, often represented by the
primary key. If an attacker changes this number to 124 and gains access to another user's
information, the application is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference. This happens because
the app didn't properly check if the user had permission to view data for user 124 before displaying it.

In some cases, the identi?er may not be in the URL, but rather in the POST body, as shown in the
following example:

<form action="/update_profile" method="post">


<!-- Other fields for updating name, email, etc. -->
<input type="hidden" name="user_id" value="12345">
<button type="submit">Update Profile</button>
</form>

In this example, the application allows users to update their pro?les by submitting a form with the
user ID in a hidden ?eld. If the app doesn't perform proper access control on the server-side, attackers
can manipulate the "user_id" ?eld to modify pro?les of other users without authorization.

Identi2er complexity
In some cases, using more complex identi?ers like GUIDs can make it practically impossible for

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attackers to guess valid values. However, even with complex identi?ers, access control checks are
essential. If attackers obtain URLs for unauthorized objects, the application should still block their
access attempts.

Mitigation
To mitigate IDOR, implement access control checks for each object that users try to access. Web
frameworks often provide ways to facilitate this. Additionally, use complex identi?ers as a defense-in-
depth measure, but remember that access control is crucial even with these identi?ers.

Avoid exposing identi?ers in URLs and POST bodies if possible. Instead, determine the currently
authenticated user from session information. When using multi-step Wows, pass identi?ers in the
session to prevent tampering.

When looking up objects based on primary keys, use datasets that users have access to. For
example, in Ruby on Rails:

// vulnerable, searches all projects


@project = Project.find(params[:id])
// secure, searches projects related to the current user
@project = @current_user.projects.find(params[:id])

Verify the user's permission every time an access attempt is made. Implement this structurally using
the recommended approach for your web framework.

As an additional defense-in-depth measure, replace enumerable numeric identi?ers with more


complex, random identi?ers. You can achieve this by adding a column with random strings in the
database table and using those strings in the URLs instead of numeric primary keys. Another option
is to use UUIDs or other long random values as primary keys. Avoid encrypting identi?ers as it can be
challenging to do so securely.

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