Multiple admin levels

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Description

In an application with administrators that have the ability to alter login credentials of users, if there are multiple levels of administrator permissions, there needs to be a control preventing administrators with lower permission levels from altering login credentials of higher level admins.

Risk Factors

  • Likelihood of this happening relies on an attacker getting control of a lower level admin account in the first place.
  • Administrator misconduct or mistakes could be made worse if they could easily escalate their own permissions.
  • There is no point to create administrators with different levels of permissions if you don’t prevent them from easily escalating their own permissions.