A single distributor account should never have the power to become an administrator. Yet, hidden weaknesses in authentication and authorization can turn an ordinary login into a pathway to widespread account compromise.
This case study examines how Ampcus Cyber conducted a penetration test of a multi-role enterprise portal used in the B2B distribution and medical and healthcare sectors. The assessment uncovered six security vulnerabilities spanning privilege escalation, CAPTCHA bypass, OTP response replay, unauthorized password changes, and excessive data exposure.
The investigation revealed a systemic weakness: the application trusted client-controlled data instead of independently enforcing identity, role, and account ownership checks on the server. These flaws could have enabled unauthorized administrative access, cross-account password changes, and account takeover. Notably, the vulnerabilities were not identified by the client’s automated scanners, highlighting the importance of testing application logic and real-world attack paths beyond conventional vulnerability scanning.
Aligned with the OWASP Web Security Testing Guide and NIST SP 800-115, Ampcus Cyber provided proof-of-concept findings, prioritized remediation guidance, and validation retesting. The engagement helped the client’s engineering team address the underlying trust failures and verify that all six findings were closed.
Download the complete case study to explore the attack scenarios, vulnerability severity ratings, technical root causes, and remediation strategies.
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