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Understand Roles and Permissions

AttackLens uses role-based access control (RBAC) to manage what each user can see and do in the platform. Every user is assigned exactly one role, and each role provides a specific set of permissions. Roles are hierarchical -- each role includes all the permissions of the roles below it.

Role Hierarchy

Super Admin
    └── Admin
        └── Posture Manager
            └── Viewer

Role Descriptions

Viewer

The most restricted role. Designed for stakeholders, executives, compliance officers, and team members who need visibility into the organization's security posture without the ability to make changes.

Viewers can:

  • View the dashboard and all summary widgets.
  • Browse assets, asset groups, and asset details (read-only).
  • View inventory records and installed packages.
  • View findings and finding details.
  • View vulnerabilities and vulnerability details.
  • Explore the attack graph, attack paths, chokepoints, and toxic combinations.
  • View policies and rulesets (read-only).
  • View their own profile and change their password.

Posture Manager

Designed for security analysts and engineers who manage the day-to-day security posture. Posture Managers can create and modify security content and manage endpoints.

Posture Managers can do everything a Viewer can, plus:

  • Create, edit, and delete assets.
  • Create and manage asset groups.
  • Resolve asset conflicts (merge, split, dismiss).
  • Create, edit, and delete policies.
  • Create, edit, and delete rulesets.
  • Trigger posture evaluations.
  • Manage sensors (view details, link/unlink to assets, delete).
  • Create and manage enrollment tokens.
  • Create issues from findings (using configured integrations).

Admin

Designed for security team leads and platform operators who configure how AttackLens connects to external systems and how it behaves.

Admins can do everything a Posture Manager can, plus:

  • Create, edit, and delete adapter connections (Azure, AWS, GCP).
  • Trigger discovery syncs.
  • View and manage discovery snapshots.
  • Configure issue integrations (Jira, ServiceNow, GitHub).
  • Configure the MCP server.
  • View audit logs.
  • Configure attack graph settings.
  • Manage feed and update settings.
  • Access sensor downloads management.

Super Admin

Full unrestricted access to every feature in AttackLens. Designed for the platform administrator responsible for the overall installation.

Super Admins can do everything an Admin can, plus:

  • Create, edit, disable, and delete user accounts.
  • Change user roles.
  • Reset user passwords.
  • Configure SSO / SAML settings.
  • Access all system-level configuration.

Permission Matrix

The following table provides a detailed breakdown of permissions by role. A checkmark indicates the role has that permission.

Dashboard and Overview

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View dashboardYesYesYesYes
View posture summaryYesYesYesYes
View vulnerability summaryYesYesYesYes
View attack graph summaryYesYesYesYes

Assets

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View assetsYesYesYesYes
View asset detailsYesYesYesYes
Create assets--YesYesYes
Edit assets--YesYesYes
Delete assets--YesYesYes
Create asset groups--YesYesYes
Edit asset groups--YesYesYes
Delete asset groups--YesYesYes
Resolve asset conflicts--YesYesYes

Inventory

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View inventoryYesYesYesYes
View installed packagesYesYesYesYes
View running servicesYesYesYesYes

Findings

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View findingsYesYesYesYes
View finding detailsYesYesYesYes
Create issues from findings--YesYesYes

Vulnerabilities

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View vulnerabilitiesYesYesYesYes
View vulnerability detailsYesYesYesYes

Attack Graph

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View attack graphYesYesYesYes
View attack pathsYesYesYesYes
View chokepointsYesYesYesYes
View toxic combinationsYesYesYesYes
Configure attack graph settings----YesYes

Policies and Rulesets

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View policiesYesYesYesYes
Create / edit policies--YesYesYes
Delete policies--YesYesYes
View rulesetsYesYesYesYes
Create / edit rulesets--YesYesYes
Delete rulesets--YesYesYes
Trigger evaluations--YesYesYes

Discovery

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View adaptersYesYesYesYes
Create / edit adapters----YesYes
Delete adapters----YesYes
Trigger discovery sync----YesYes
View snapshotsYesYesYesYes

Sensors

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View sensorsYesYesYesYes
View sensor detailsYesYesYesYes
Link / unlink sensors--YesYesYes
Delete sensors--YesYesYes
Create enrollment tokens--YesYesYes
Revoke / delete tokens--YesYesYes
Manage sensor downloads----YesYes

Integrations

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View integrationsYesYesYesYes
Create / edit integrations----YesYes
Delete integrations----YesYes
Configure MCP server----YesYes

Settings

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View audit logs----YesYes
Configure feed and updates----YesYes
Configure attack graph----YesYes
Configure SSO / SAML------Yes

User Management

PermissionViewerPosture ManagerAdminSuper Admin
View users------Yes
Create users------Yes
Edit users------Yes
Disable / enable users------Yes
Delete users------Yes
Reset passwords------Yes

Best Practices

  • Start with Viewer: When in doubt, assign the Viewer role. You can always upgrade later.
  • Limit Super Admins: Only 1-2 users should have the Super Admin role. This reduces the risk of accidental or unauthorized changes to critical settings.
  • Use Posture Manager for day-to-day work: Most security analysts need Posture Manager access to manage assets, policies, and sensors effectively.
  • Review roles periodically: As team responsibilities change, review and adjust roles. The audit log tracks all role changes for accountability.
  • Separate duties: In regulated environments, ensure that the person managing users (Super Admin) is not the same person managing security policies (Posture Manager) where possible.

AttackLens - Continuous Exposure Management