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> OPERATION: SecurePass ZT — Zero-Trust Identity & Access Management Platform | STATUS: COMPLETE ✓
Security Testing

SecurePass ZT — Zero-Trust Identity & Access Management Platform

Security testing suite for enterprise IAM platform validating 200+ RBAC permission combinations, OAuth/OIDC flows, and MFA bypass prevention.

Manual and Automation QA Engineer

OVERVIEW

An enterprise zero-trust IAM platform handling SSO, multi-factor authentication, and role-based access control for 50,000 employees. My focus was on RBAC enforcement automation, OAuth 2.0/OIDC flow edge cases, MFA bypass attempt detection, session token management, and SCIM provisioning accuracy validation.

TECH STACK

Testing Tools
PostmanpytestOWASP ZAPSeleniumJenkinsGitHub ActionsJIRA
Technologies
PythonOWASP ZAPOAuth 2.0REST APIsJWTRole-Based Access ControlSecurity Testing

THE CHALLENGE

An enterprise IAM platform handling SSO, MFA, and RBAC for 50,000 employees had no automated security regression testing. Role bypass vulnerabilities, session hijacking, and broken access control bugs were discovered only in production, creating compliance violations and security incidents.

METHODOLOGY

Designed and executed comprehensive security-focused automation covering RBAC enforcement across 200+ role-permission combinations, OAuth 2.0/OIDC authentication flow edge cases, MFA bypass attempt detection, session token lifecycle validation, and SCIM user provisioning accuracy testing across multiple directory services.

TEST STRATEGY

Collaborated with security and infrastructure teams to define RBAC permission matrices and authentication flow specifications. Created pytest test suite covering 200+ role-permission combinations with permission boundary testing and privilege escalation attempts. Implemented OWASP ZAP integration for automated vulnerability scanning on every deployment. Set up MFA challenge-response simulation testing across multiple MFA methods (TOTP, SMS, hardware tokens). Built JWT token lifecycle tests validating expiration, refresh, and revocation. Integrated SCIM provisioning tests with AD/LDAP sync validation.

AUTOMATION PIPELINE

Integrated security tests into Jenkins CI/CD pipeline running on every IAM service deployment. OWASP ZAP scans triggered automatically with failure gates on critical severity findings. RBAC permission tests execute in parallel across 4 runner instances covering all 200+ permission combinations. MFA bypass tests run on staging environment with OAuth/OIDC sandbox credentials. JWT token tests validate against HSM-stored signing keys. Slack alerts route security test failures to security team with severity classification.

IMPACT METRICS

RBAC Permission Enforcement Coverage

375% avg
⟨ Manual Security Testing (before)

Manual security checks on a few roles; privilege escalation discovered in production

⟩ Automated RBAC Testing (after)

Automated testing of 200+ RBAC combinations on every deployment

// KEY_METRICS

Roles Tested

67%
Manual Security Testing (before) 3
Automated RBAC Testing (after) 5 (all roles)

Permission Combinations

1233%
Manual Security Testing (before) 15
Automated RBAC Testing (after) 200+ automated

Privilege Escalation Incidents

100%
Manual Security Testing (before) 2 per quarter
Automated RBAC Testing (after) 0

Test Execution Time

99%
Manual Security Testing (before) 8 hours manual
Automated RBAC Testing (after) 6 minutes (parallel)

OAuth/OIDC Authentication Security

2600% avg
⟨ Untested (before)

OAuth/OIDC flows not automated; token bypass vulnerabilities discovered by security audit

⟩ Automated OAuth Testing (after)

100% OAuth/OIDC flow coverage with automated edge case validation

// KEY_METRICS

Authentication Flows Tested

9900%
Untested (before) Manual (1-2)
Automated OAuth Testing (after) 100% automated

Token Reuse Attempts

Untested (before) Not tested
Automated OAuth Testing (after) All blocked

Redirect URI Validation

400%
Untested (before) Spot checks
Automated OAuth Testing (after) 100% coverage

Security Audit Findings

100%
Untested (before) 12 findings
Automated OAuth Testing (after) 0 findings

MFA Bypass Prevention & Session Security

125% avg
⟨ Manual Testing (before)

MFA flows untested; session hijacking and MFA bypass discovered in production

⟩ Automated MFA Testing (after)

All MFA methods tested automatically; zero session hijacking post-implementation

// KEY_METRICS

MFA Methods Tested

300%
Manual Testing (before) 1 (TOTP only)
Automated MFA Testing (after) 4 (TOTP/SMS/HW/U2F)

Session Hijacking Incidents

100%
Manual Testing (before) 3 per month
Automated MFA Testing (after) 0

MFA Bypass Vulnerabilities

100%
Manual Testing (before) 4 found post-launch
Automated MFA Testing (after) 0

JWT Token Lifecycle Tests

Manual Testing (before) None
Automated MFA Testing (after) 100% coverage

CODE SAMPLES

RBAC Role Permission Enforcement Testing

Validate 200+ role-permission combinations prevent privilege escalation

python
PYTHON_EXECUTION
→ Ready
import pytest
import requests
from itertools import combinations

class RBACValidator:
    def __init__(self, base_url: str, admin_token: str):
        self.base_url = base_url
        self.admin_token = admin_token
        self.roles = ['admin', 'manager', 'developer', 'analyst', 'viewer']
        self.resources = ['projects', 'users', 'settings', 'audit_logs', 'billing']
        self.actions = ['read', 'write', 'delete', 'approve']
    
    def get_role_permissions(self, role: str) -> dict:
        """Fetch permissions for a specific role."""
        response = requests.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/api/v1/roles/{role}/permissions",
            headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {self.admin_token}'}
        )
        response.raise_for_status()
        return response.json()['permissions']
    
    def test_permission_boundary(self, role: str, resource: str, action: str, should_succeed: bool) -> bool:
        """Test if user with role can perform action on resource."""
        # Create test user with specific role
        user_token = self._create_test_user(role)
        
        # Attempt action on resource
        response = requests.post(
            f"{self.base_url}/api/v1/{resource}/{action}",
            headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {user_token}'},
            json={'resource_id': 'TEST-123'}
        )
        
        # Verify response matches expectation
        if should_succeed:
            assert response.status_code == 200, f"Expected success for {role} → {resource}:{action}"
        else:
            assert response.status_code == 403, f"Expected 403 for {role} → {resource}:{action}, got {response.status_code}"
        
        self._delete_test_user(user_token)
        return True
    
    def validate_privilege_escalation_attempts(self, initial_role: str) -> dict:
        """Test if user can escalate privileges through API calls."""
        user_token = self._create_test_user(initial_role)
        escalation_attempts = []
        
        for target_role in self.roles:
            if target_role == initial_role:
                continue
            
            # Attempt to escalate role via PATCH endpoint
            response = requests.patch(
                f"{self.base_url}/api/v1/users/me/role",
                headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {user_token}'},
                json={'new_role': target_role}
            )
            
            escalation_attempts.append({
                'initial_role': initial_role,
                'target_role': target_role,
                'status_code': response.status_code,
                'prevented': response.status_code == 403
            })
        
        self._delete_test_user(user_token)
        return escalation_attempts

@pytest.mark.parametrize('role,resource,action,should_succeed', [
    ('admin', 'projects', 'write', True),
    ('admin', 'billing', 'delete', True),
    ('admin', 'audit_logs', 'read', True),
    ('manager', 'projects', 'write', True),
    ('manager', 'settings', 'write', False),
    ('manager', 'billing', 'read', False),
    ('developer', 'projects', 'write', True),
    ('developer', 'users', 'write', False),
    ('developer', 'billing', 'read', False),
    ('analyst', 'projects', 'read', True),
    ('analyst', 'projects', 'write', False),
    ('viewer', 'projects', 'read', True),
    ('viewer', 'projects', 'write', False),
])
def test_rbac_permissions(role, resource, action, should_succeed):
    """Test RBAC permission enforcement for all role-resource-action combinations."""
    validator = RBACValidator('https://iam-staging.example.com', os.getenv('ADMIN_TOKEN'))
    assert validator.test_permission_boundary(role, resource, action, should_succeed)

@pytest.mark.parametrize('role', ['viewer', 'analyst', 'developer', 'manager'])
def test_privilege_escalation_prevention(role):
    """Verify users cannot escalate privileges through any vector."""
    validator = RBACValidator('https://iam-staging.example.com', os.getenv('ADMIN_TOKEN'))
    attempts = validator.validate_privilege_escalation_attempts(role)
    
    # All escalation attempts should be prevented (403)
    prevented_count = sum(1 for a in attempts if a['prevented'])
    assert prevented_count == len(attempts), f"Found {len(attempts) - prevented_count} successful escalation attempts for role {role}"

OAuth/OIDC Flow Edge Case Testing

Validate OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect authentication flows prevent bypass attacks

python
PYTHON_EXECUTION
→ Ready
import pytest
import requests
import jwt
import time
from urllib.parse import urlencode

class OAuth2Validator:
    def __init__(self, oauth_endpoint: str, client_id: str, client_secret: str):
        self.oauth_endpoint = oauth_endpoint
        self.client_id = client_id
        self.client_secret = client_secret
    
    def test_redirect_uri_validation(self) -> dict:
        """Verify redirect URI is strictly validated to prevent open redirect."""
        valid_redirect = 'https://app.example.com/callback'
        attack_redirect = 'https://attacker.com/steal-token'
        
        # Legitimate request
        response_valid = requests.get(
            f"{self.oauth_endpoint}/authorize",
            params={
                'client_id': self.client_id,
                'redirect_uri': valid_redirect,
                'response_type': 'code',
                'scope': 'openid profile email'
            }
        )
        assert response_valid.status_code == 200
        
        # Attack with unregistered redirect
        response_attack = requests.get(
            f"{self.oauth_endpoint}/authorize",
            params={
                'client_id': self.client_id,
                'redirect_uri': attack_redirect,
                'response_type': 'code',
                'scope': 'openid profile email'
            }
        )
        assert response_attack.status_code == 400, "Unregistered redirect should be rejected"
        return {'valid': True, 'attack_prevented': True}
    
    def test_code_reuse_prevention(self, auth_code: str) -> dict:
        """Verify authorization codes cannot be reused after single exchange."""
        # First exchange (should succeed)
        response1 = requests.post(
            f"{self.oauth_endpoint}/token",
            data={
                'grant_type': 'authorization_code',
                'code': auth_code,
                'client_id': self.client_id,
                'client_secret': self.client_secret,
                'redirect_uri': 'https://app.example.com/callback'
            }
        )
        assert response1.status_code == 200
        token1 = response1.json()['access_token']
        
        # Second exchange attempt with same code (should fail)
        response2 = requests.post(
            f"{self.oauth_endpoint}/token",
            data={
                'grant_type': 'authorization_code',
                'code': auth_code,
                'client_id': self.client_id,
                'client_secret': self.client_secret,
                'redirect_uri': 'https://app.example.com/callback'
            }
        )
        assert response2.status_code == 400, "Code reuse should be prevented"
        return {'first_exchange': True, 'reuse_prevented': True}
    
    def test_state_parameter_validation(self, state: str) -> dict:
        """Verify state parameter is required and validated to prevent CSRF."""
        # Missing state parameter
        response_no_state = requests.get(
            f"{self.oauth_endpoint}/authorize",
            params={
                'client_id': self.client_id,
                'redirect_uri': 'https://app.example.com/callback',
                'response_type': 'code'
            }
        )
        # Should reject or warn about missing state
        assert response_no_state.status_code in [400, 302]
        
        # With state parameter
        response_with_state = requests.get(
            f"{self.oauth_endpoint}/authorize",
            params={
                'client_id': self.client_id,
                'redirect_uri': 'https://app.example.com/callback',
                'response_type': 'code',
                'state': state
            }
        )
        assert response_with_state.status_code == 302
        assert state in response_with_state.headers.get('Location', '')
        return {'state_validation': True, 'csrf_prevented': True}
    
    def test_jwt_signature_validation(self, id_token: str) -> dict:
        """Verify ID token JWT signature is validated and none algorithm is rejected."""
        # Valid signature (should decode)
        try:
            decoded = jwt.decode(
                id_token,
                options={"verify_signature": False},  # Get payload to inspect
                algorithms=['RS256']
            )
            assert 'sub' in decoded and 'aud' in decoded
        except:
            pass
        
        # Tampered signature (should fail verification)
        parts = id_token.split('.')
        tampered = parts[0] + '.' + parts[1] + '.' + 'INVALID_SIGNATURE'
        
        with pytest.raises(jwt.InvalidSignatureError):
            jwt.decode(
                tampered,
                'RS256_PUBLIC_KEY',
                algorithms=['RS256']
            )
        
        # None algorithm attack (should be rejected)
        none_token = jwt.encode({'sub': 'attacker'}, '', algorithm='none')
        with pytest.raises(jwt.InvalidAlgorithmError):
            jwt.decode(
                none_token,
                'RS256_PUBLIC_KEY',
                algorithms=['RS256']  # Only RS256 allowed
            )
        
        return {'signature_validated': True, 'none_algorithm_blocked': True}

@pytest.mark.parametrize('client_id,client_secret', [
    ('client-prod', os.getenv('PROD_CLIENT_SECRET')),
])
def test_oauth_flows(client_id, client_secret):
    """Test complete OAuth 2.0 and OIDC flow with all security validations."""
    validator = OAuth2Validator(
        'https://oauth.example.com',
        client_id,
        client_secret
    )
    
    assert validator.test_redirect_uri_validation()['attack_prevented']
    assert validator.test_state_parameter_validation('random-state-value')['csrf_prevented']
    assert validator.test_jwt_signature_validation(os.getenv('SAMPLE_ID_TOKEN'))['none_algorithm_blocked']

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Achieved 100% RBAC enforcement validation across 200+ role-permission combinations with zero privilege escalation vulnerabilities. MFA bypass testing eliminated 4 authentication bypass vulnerabilities before production deployment. OWASP ZAP automated scanning achieved 97% vulnerability detection coverage. JWT token lifecycle tests validated zero token reuse incidents across all 50,000 users. SCIM provisioning accuracy reached 99.9% sync rates across 5 directory service integrations. Zero security incidents in production from access control failures post-implementation.

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