Test Permissions of Guest/Training Accounts (OTG-IDENT-006)

This article is part of the new OWASP Testing Guide v4.

Back to the OWASP Testing Guide v4 ToC:
   https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Testing_Guide_v4_Table_of_Contents
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   https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Testing_Project

Summary

Guest and Training accounts are useful ways to acquaint potential users with system functionality prior to them completing the authorisation process required for access. However, these accounts are often modeled on business roles and may be provisioned with access to more functionality than is required for the user.

Test objectives

Evaluate consistency between access policy and guest/training account access permissions

Build or validate access control matrix including guest/training accounts

How to test

Either with or without the help of the system developers/configurators, develop an guest/training account vs. permission matrix. The matrix should explore the permissions that assigned to guest/training accounts. If a matrix is provided with the application it should be validated by the tester, if it doesn't exist, the tester should generate it and determine whether the matrix satisfies the desired access policy for the application.

Example

<insert some images of guest/training account instances>

Remediation

Ensure guest/training accounts are provisioned with the minimum permissions required for users that are not formally authorised or trained to use the application.