I Bypassed Admin Panel & Stole Data in Minutes! Easility Worth $7500 (Real-World Exploit) 🔥💰

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Introduction

Broken Access Control (BAC) is one of the most critical web vulnerabilities, often leading to unauthorized access to sensitive data, account takeovers, and even full system compromise. In this article, I’ll share how I bypassed an admin panel, accessed confidential data, and how you can test for such vulnerabilities to earn high bug bounty rewards.

What is Broken Access Control?

Broken Access Control occurs when an application fails to properly restrict users from accessing unauthorized resources. Attackers can exploit this weakness to:

• Access Admin Panels 🚀
• Modify User Privileges 🛠️
• View Sensitive Data 🔍
• Perform Actions as Other Users 🎭

Potential Payouts for BAC Bugs

• Admin Panel Access → $3000 — $10,000
• Privilege Escalation → $5000 — $15,000
• Data Leakage (PII, Financial Info) → $2000 — $8000
• Full Account Takeover → $10,000+

How I Exploited a Broken Access Control Bug

Step 1: Identifying Weak Authorization Controls

I began by analyzing the web application’s authorization mechanism using the following techniques:

1. Direct URL Manipulation

I checked if normal users could access admin pages by changing the URL:

https://example.com/user/dashboard  →  https://example.com/admin/dashboard

Surprisingly, the admin panel loaded without authentication!

2. Modifying API Requests

I intercepted API calls using Burp Suite and changed my user role from user to admin:

{
  "user_id": 1234,
  "role": "admin"
}

The API accepted my modified request, granting me full admin privileges! 😈

3. Testing IDOR (Insecure Direct Object References)

I checked if I could access other users’ data by modifying parameters:

https://example.com/user/profile?id=1234 → id=5678

Boom! The system exposed another user’s private data without any authentication!

Exploiting BAC for Maximum Impact

Full Admin Takeover

By escalating privileges via the API request, I gained access to:

• User Account Details 📂
• Payment & Transaction History 💳
• Sensitive Business Data 📊

Mass Account Takeover

By modifying user IDs in the API, I could access any user’s profile, messages, and personal information.

The Payout: $7500 for a 20-Minute Exploit!

After responsibly disclosing the issue, the company acknowledged the severity and rewarded me $7500 within a week! 💰🔥

How to Prevent Broken Access Control?

Fixes for Developers:

Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

Deny access by default and use allow-lists for permissions.

Use session-based authentication instead of relying on client-side validation.

Enforce proper authorization at both frontend & backend levels.

Example Fix in Python Flask:

from flask_login import login_required, current_user
@app.route("/admin")
@login_required
def admin_panel():
    if not current_user.is_admin:
        return "Access Denied", 403
    return render_template("admin.html")

Final Thoughts

Broken Access Control remains one of the most critical and rewarding vulnerabilities in bug bounty hunting. With the right recon techniques, you can identify and exploit these weaknesses to earn significant rewards.

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