Benchmark: 6.5.8 Examine software-development policies and procedures and interview responsible personnel to verify that improper access control—such as insecure direct object references, failure to restrict URL access, and directory traversal—is addressed by coding technique

Description

Directory traversal—is addressed by coding technique should include: proper authentication of users, sanitizing input, not exposing internal object references to users and user interfaces that do not permit access to unauthorized functions. A direct object reference occurs when a developer exposes a reference to an internal implementation object, such as a file, directory, database record, or key, as a URL or form parameter. Attackers can manipulate those references to access other objects without authorization. Consistently enforce access control in presentation layer and business logic for all URLs. Frequently, the only way an application protects sensitive functionality is by preventing the display of links or URLs to unauthorized users. Attackers can use this weakness to access and perform unauthorized operations by accessing those URLs directly. An attacker may be able to enumerate and navigate the directory structure of a website (directory traversal) thus gaining access to unauthorized information as well as gaining further insight into the workings of the site for later exploitation. If user interfaces permit access to unauthorized functions, this access could result in unauthorized individuals gaining access to privileged credentials or cardholder data. Only authorized users should be permitted to access direct object references to sensitive resources. Limiting access to data resources will help prevent cardholder data from being presented to unauthorized resources.