Broken access control testing
Broken access control is the number-one risk on the OWASP Top 10: users reaching data or actions their role should forbid — reading another account, hitting an admin route, editing a record they don't own. Sintropyc tests it the only way that works, as real users of different privilege, and proves every bypass.
What broken access control covers
Access control is enforced on every request, or it isn't enforced at all. It breaks in several distinct ways, and a real test covers all of them:
- Horizontal — one user reaching another user's data at the same privilege (see IDOR / BOLA)
- Vertical — a normal user performing admin or higher-privilege actions
- Forced browsing — reaching pages / endpoints the UI hides but the server still serves
- Missing function-level checks — an API action guarded only by the button being hidden
Why it's OWASP #1 and hardest to scan
Access control is a decision about who you are and what you own — there's no payload to fuzz. Proving a bypass requires being two different users and comparing what each can actually do. That's why it tops real-breach statistics and slips past automated scanners that have no accounts and no notion of roles.
Apps that enforce permissions in the frontend — hiding a button, gating a route in the client — almost always leave the API open. The UI says no; the server says yes.
How Sintropyc tests it
Sintropyc is an autonomous AI penetration testing agent. It signs in as real users across different roles, drives your product the way a customer would, and proves every finding with a working exploit — never a scanner guess. Each finding is checked by a human before it reaches you, comes with the exact fix, and is attacked again after you ship it to confirm it held.
Sintropyc uses accounts across every role, maps the full surface (including endpoints the UI never links), and tries each action as a user who shouldn't be allowed — cross-account reads and writes, admin functions from a normal session, hidden routes. It reports only what it can actually reach, with the request and result as proof.
What you get
- Horizontal and vertical access tested across all roles and endpoints
- Proven bypasses — data reached or action performed, not theory
- Each finding mapped to the fix (server-side authorization at the object and function level)
- A retest after you ship it
Common questions
How is this different from IDOR / BOLA?
IDOR and BOLA are the horizontal, object-level slice of broken access control. This page covers the whole class, including vertical (privilege) and function-level bypasses.
Do you test admin and internal tools too?
Yes, with your authorization. Admin panels and internal endpoints are where vertical access-control failures hurt most, so they're explicitly in scope when you allow it.
Can you prove it without damaging data?
Yes. Reads are shown with real returned data; writes use benign, reversible markers and the smallest safe effect. Destructive actions need explicit sign-off.