As a security researcher, I’ve uncovered dozens of vulnerabilities, but one particular finding stands out — where a simple IDOR flaw snowballed into a critical account takeover chain. This case study reveals how modern web defenses can fail and why proper security layers matter.

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While testing a popular SaaS platform’s widget feature, I noticed each widget was accessed via:

https://app.target.com/widgets/edit?uuid=123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000

Changing the UUID granted me full editing rights to any user’s widget. No permission checks. No warnings. Just unfettered access — a textbook Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability.

Why This Was Dangerous:

• Widgets could be embedded on public websites
• The platform served over 100,000 businesses
• No secondary authentication for sensitive operations