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Admin Section Challenge

ItemDetail
CategoryBroken Access Control
DifficultyMedium (2-Star)
Juice Shop Flagscore-board#Admin Section
Tools UsedBrowser DevTools / Burp Suite
StatusSolved

1. Vulnerability Explanation​

The administration section exists at a hidden route:

/#/administration

However, the application does not properly enforce access control on the client-side routing.

Any authenticated user can access this page by simply navigating to the URL, even without visible admin navigation links.

The challenge requires first logging in as the administrator and then accessing the hidden administration page.

2. Security Impact​

  • Unauthorized access to admin functionality
  • Ability to view or manage users, orders, and products
  • Complete compromise of management features
  • Demonstrates broken access control on client-side routes

3. Step-by-Step Exploitation​

Step 1: Log in as admin (prerequisite)​

Use SQL Injection to bypass the login page.

  • Configure browser to use Burp Suite proxy
  • Navigate to login page (/#/login)
  • Turn Intercept ON in Burp Suite
  • Enter any credentials
  • Intercept the POST /rest/user/login request

Send the request to Repeater (Ctrl + R) and modify the payload:

{"email":"admin@juice-sh.op'--","password":"anything"}
  • Click Send
  • You receive a valid administrator token

Step 2: Find the admin section route​

  • Open Browser DevTools (F12)
  • Go to Sources tab
  • Search for:
administration

You will find the route registered in the AngularJS routing configuration.

Step 3: Access the admin section​

Navigate directly to:

http://localhost:3000/#/administration

Step 4: Verify​

  • Check the Score Board
  • Challenge is marked as Solved

4. Why This Works​

The AngularJS route /administration exists in the client-side application but is not properly protected by authorization checks.

Even if backend API endpoints may have restrictions, the page itself is accessible when the route is known.

This demonstrates that hiding functionality in the frontend is not a security control.

5. Mitigation​

  • Enforce access control on both client and server side
  • Implement route guards that verify user roles before rendering pages
  • Never rely on hidden navigation links to protect sensitive routes

6. Key Takeaways​

  • Hidden routes are not protected routes
  • Always inspect JavaScript source files for undisclosed endpoints
  • Admin access combined with hidden routes can lead to privilege escalation
  • Browser DevTools search is highly useful for discovering hidden paths