Analysis of ANSI RBAC Support in COM
We analyze access control mechanisms of the COM+ architecture and define a configuration of the COM+ protection system in more precise and less ambiguous language than the COM+ documentation. Using this configuration, we suggest an algorithm that formally specifies the semantics of authorization decisions in COM+. We analyze the level of support for the American National Standard Institute's (ANSI) specification of role-based access control (RBAC) components and functional specification in COM+. Our results indicate that COM+ falls short of supporting even Core RBAC. The main limitations exist due to the tight integration of the COM+ architecture with the underlying operating system, which prevents support for session management and role activation, as specified in ANSI RBAC. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
rbac com access control