CyberShield

  Welcome back to our Cybersecurity series! In our 4th post, we discussed the basics of IDOR. Today, for our 15th post, we are leveling up to explore a more sophisticated side of Broken Access Control: Insecure API Exploitation . As modern web applications move towards a "Mobile-First" or "Single Page Application (SPA)" architecture, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) have become the primary target for hackers. What is an Insecure API? An API is a bridge that allows different software components to communicate. If this bridge doesn't have a security guard (Authorization), an attacker can send malicious requests to the API and trick the server into leaking sensitive data or performing unauthorized actions. Common API Vulnerabilities BOLA (Broken Object Level Authorization): Similar to IDOR, but specifically targeting API endpoints like /api/v1/users/123 . BFLA (Broken Function Level Authorization): When a regular user can access administrative API functi...

Introduction After learning vulnerabilities like SQL Injection and XSS, the next important concept in web security is Broken Access Control, specifically IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference). According to the OWASP Top 10, Broken Access Control is one of the most critical security risks in modern web applications. What is IDOR? IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference) happens when a web application uses user-supplied input to directly access objects without proper authorization checks. In simple terms, the application allows access to data by changing an ID without verifying whether the user has permission. Simple Real-World Example Your profile URL might look like: https://example.com/my-account?id=1005 If you change it to: https://example.com/my-account?id=1006 and you can view another user’s private data, then the application is vulnerable to IDOR. Why IDOR is Dangerous Data Exposure Attackers can access sensitive information such as emails, phone numbers, and addresses. Unauthori...