Permissions Glossary

Browse 14 permissions terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

14 Permissions Terms

Access Control List
Access Control List is an authorization structure that stores ordered allow and deny entries for users, groups, or services on an object. Security teams use it...
Authorization
Authorization is the process of determining what an authenticated user, service, or system is permitted to do, controlling access to resources and operations....
Capability
An unforgeable token or reference that grants the holder permission to perform a specific operation on a specific resource — a security model where possessing...
Chmod
To change file or directory permissions on Unix-like systems using the `chmod` command. In casual engineering speech, people often use the command name as a...
chmod 777
A Unix command that makes a file or directory readable, writable, and executable by everyone, often used as a notorious example of a quick but unsafe...
Filesystem Security
The protection of files, directories, metadata, and mount behavior through permissions, ownership, encryption, auditing, and safe configuration. Filesystem...
God Mode
An elevated state of unrestricted control, borrowed from games, where someone can bypass normal limits or protections. In software it often means admin-level...
Permission Abuse
The misuse of legitimate permissions to access, alter, or extract data or perform actions beyond intended business use. Permission abuse often does not require...
Permission Audit
A review of users, groups, roles, and application rights to determine whether access is appropriate, excessive, stale, or improperly assigned. Permission...
Permission Denied
A classic error meaning access is not allowed, often used literally and also as shorthand for the broader frustration of blocked access. In engineering slang,...
Read Access
Permission to view or retrieve data, files, records, or other resources without necessarily being allowed to modify them. Read access may sound limited, but in...
Root
The superuser account on Unix-like systems (UID 0) that has unrestricted access to all files, processes, and system calls. Also refers to the top-level node of...
Root Access
Administrative access with full control over a Unix-like system, allowing unrestricted changes to files, processes, and configuration. In practice it implies...
Sudo
Superuser Do — a Unix command that executes a command with elevated (root) privileges. In tech culture, used metaphorically: 'I sudo asked my boss for a...

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