Discretionary Access Control (dac)

Primary definition

An access control policy that is enforced over all subjects and objects in an information system where the policy specifies that a subject that has been granted access to information can do one or more of the following: (i) pass the information to other subjects or objects; (ii) grant its privileges to other subjects; (iii) change security attributes on subjects, objects, information systems, or system components; (iv) choose the security attributes to be associated with newly-created or revised objects; or (v) change the rules governing access control. Mandatory access controls restrict this capability. Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 4

Also known asDAC · discretionary access controls · user-based access control · owner-based access control
1 sources cited4 related termsReviewed Aug 9, 2026
Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015View source

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CNSSGC

An access control policy that is enforced over all subjects and objects in an information system where the policy specifies that a subject that has been granted access to information can do one or more of the following: (i) pass the information to other subjects or objects; (ii) grant its privileges to other subjects; (iii) change security attributes on subjects, objects, information systems, or system components; (iv) choose the security attributes to be associated with newly-created or revised objects; or (v) change the rules governing access control. Mandatory access controls restrict this capability. Source: NIST SP 800-53 Rev 4

Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015 · 2024

Cite this term

Permanent URL · stable across revisions
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Discretionary Access Control (dac). In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved August 13, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/discretionary-access-control-dac

Sources

1 cited · last checked Aug 9, 2026

01

Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015
Committee on National Security Systems Glossary CNSSI 4009-2015

Single-source

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