During a security assessment of a microservices-based web application, an analyst reviews API traffic logs for the user settings service. The logs show that an authenticated user transmitted an HTTP PATCH request to update their profile information. By adding the property "is_admin": true to the JSON request payload, the user successfully elevated their permissions on the platform because the backend automatically bound the request fields directly to the internal data model. Which of the following best identifies the root cause vulnerability and the most effective developer remediation?
- Mass assignment; restrict object parameter binding by using data transfer objects (DTOs) or field allowlists on the backend.Cevap
- BCross-site scripting (XSS); sanitize all incoming database queries using parameterized SQL statements.
- CBroken authentication; enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all web application user login endpoints.
- DInsecure direct object reference (IDOR); configure external perimeter firewall rules to drop all HTTP PATCH requests containing JSON bodies.
Cevap
Mass assignment; restrict object parameter binding by using data transfer objects (DTOs) or field allowlists on the backend.
The correct answer identifies mass assignment as the root cause vulnerability and parameter allowlisting as the effective mitigation. Mass assignment (also known as auto-binding) occurs when software frameworks automatically bind incoming HTTP payload parameters to internal data structures without restricting allowable fields. Attackers exploit this by injecting unexpected properties like privilege flags. Creating explicit Data Transfer Objects (DTOs) or field allowlists restricts parameter binding exclusively to authorized attributes.
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Anahtar Kavram
Mass Assignment Vulnerability and Parameter Binding Defense