In STRIDE threat modeling, which category most directly involves impersonation of identity to gain unauthorized access?

• A. Tampering
• B. Spoofing
• C. Repudiation
• D. Elevation of privilege

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is impersonation of identity within STRIDE, which is captured by spoofing. Spoofing is when an attacker pretends to be someone or something else to break authentication and gain access. This includes using stolen credentials, forged tokens, or presenting a fake identity during login, all aimed at convincing the system that the attacker is a legitimate user.

Other STRIDE categories describe different issues: tampering is about altering data in transit or at rest, repudiation concerns denying that a user performed an action, and elevation of privilege involves gaining higher privileges after authentication. Since spoofing centers on falsely presenting identity to bypass access controls, it is the best fit for impersonation-related unauthorized access.