A security flaw in Google Webmaster tools results in old user accounts automatically getting re-verified and given access to sites they shouldn’t have access to anymore.
Google Webmaster tools is Google website that helps website owners manage how their site appears in Google, diagnose problems, and optimize traffic.
According to the Search Engine Journal report, users are finding themselves with sudden access to accounts that they once had access to, but no longer do; i.e., ex-employees or even contractors and the like.
"For those not aware of the seriousness of this apparent breach of security, " The Search Engine Journal report reads. "The rub is, there’s simply no guarantee those granted renewed access won’t do something malicious. Not only could past access holders change key elements, but spying on the competition for larger entities is definitely a possibility."
"That bug is presumably giving a lot of power to individuals that shouldn’t have it — power to deindex, disavow links, unverify the current/legitimate webmaster’s access, and even redirect sites to other verified domains in the user’s account. It also reveals a lot of link, search, index/crawl and other data to users that shouldn’t be able to see those things." The Search Engine Land report says.
Google has fixed the bug , several hours after the issue.
Google Webmaster tools is Google website that helps website owners manage how their site appears in Google, diagnose problems, and optimize traffic.
According to the Search Engine Journal report, users are finding themselves with sudden access to accounts that they once had access to, but no longer do; i.e., ex-employees or even contractors and the like.
"For those not aware of the seriousness of this apparent breach of security, " The Search Engine Journal report reads. "The rub is, there’s simply no guarantee those granted renewed access won’t do something malicious. Not only could past access holders change key elements, but spying on the competition for larger entities is definitely a possibility."
"That bug is presumably giving a lot of power to individuals that shouldn’t have it — power to deindex, disavow links, unverify the current/legitimate webmaster’s access, and even redirect sites to other verified domains in the user’s account. It also reveals a lot of link, search, index/crawl and other data to users that shouldn’t be able to see those things." The Search Engine Land report says.
Google has fixed the bug , several hours after the issue.
