---
title: Security considerations
description: Understand how PingDirectory composed attributes can expose source attribute values and how to restrict access with ACIs.
component: pingdirectory
version: 10.3
page_id: pingdirectory:pingdirectory_server_administration_guide:pd_ds_security_considerations
canonical_url: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/11.1/pingdirectory_server_administration_guide/pd_ds_security_considerations.html
llms_txt: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/llms.txt
docs_for_agents: https://developer.pingidentity.com/build-with-ai/docs-for-agents.md
revdate: 2023-09-13T00:00:00Z
superseded_by: https://docs.pingidentity.com/pingdirectory/11.1/pingdirectory_server_administration_guide/pd_ds_security_considerations.html
---

# Security considerations

The primary security consideration for composed attributes is that they can expose the values of other attributes.

For example, if the `cn` attribute is composed from the values of the `givenName` and `sn` attributes, then a user with permission to read the `cn` attribute could determine the values of the `givenName` and `sn` attributes even if they do not have permission to read these attributes directly.

This is not typically a significant concern, and you can address it by ensuring that the user's access-control configuration restricts access to source attributes used in a composed attribute value pattern and imposes similar restrictions to the composed attribute.