Authentication Bypass

What Is Broken and Why

Authentication logic applied only at the login page leaves all downstream pages unprotected. Applications relying on client-supplied flags (authenticated, role, admin) to gate access allow trivial bypass by modifying those values. Predictable session tokens enable forging. Insecure deserialization in cookie handling allows boolean type juggling to short-circuit credential verification. Credentials transmitted over HTTP expose them to passive interception. Browser caching of authenticated responses allows offline credential harvesting from shared machines.

Key Signals