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Application & OT Security · Foundational

Forced Browsing

Directly requesting URLs or resources that are not linked in the application, to find unprotected pages or files.

Definition

Attackers guess predictable paths such as /admin, /backup.zip or /api/internal. Unlinked is not protected. Mitigations include authorization on every resource, removing unneeded files and disabling directory listings.

Example

Requesting /reports/2026-q3.pdf without logging in returns the file.

Exam tip

Security through obscurity of URLs is not access control.

Related terms