Take-Home Coding Packet Tests Whether AI Agents Catch Authorization Cache Flaws

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A new developer take-home assignment targets a subtle but critical security flaw: caching an authorization 'allow' decision without tracking revocation, which can serve restricted files even after a user's access has been removed. The packet centers on a small Node.js document-download service where each request must verify current membership before returning any file bytes. Candidates are graded not on latency optimizations or framework choices, but on whether their handler correctly reflects the latest access state on every single request. The assignment was designed in response to hiring reviewers seeing agent-generated code that passes public tests while hiding authorization bypasses invisible to standard CI pipelines. Key grading criteria include: a revoked user receiving 403 immediately, a newly granted user receiving 200 immediately, and the service failing closed during membership outages rather than falling back on a stale cached allow.

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