Sharelevel

Sharelevel refers to a model of access control for networked resources in which permissions are assigned to the shared resource itself rather than to individual users or groups. In a sharelevel model, access to the resource is controlled through the share configuration, often using a share-wide password and a fixed set of permissions such as read or write. Authentication is performed against the share boundary, and once access is granted, the user inherits the permissions defined for that share, independent of local file-system permissions.

Sharelevel security was more common in older network environments and in some early file-sharing protocols and operating systems. In these setups, the primary gatekeeper is the share rather than per-user credentials. In some implementations, a per-share password was required to access the resource, and permissions were applied uniformly to all users who connected to the share. In contrast, user-level security models require authentication and permissions to be defined for individual users or groups.

In practice, sharelevel approaches provide simpler administration for small, trusted groups but offer weaker security and limited auditability. They can enable unauthorized access if a share password is shared or leaked, and they do not support granular per-user permission management or detailed activity logging. Most contemporary systems favor user-level permissions, directory ACLs, and integrated authentication, relegating sharelevel configurations to legacy or compatibility modes.

See also: share permissions, NTFS permissions, ACL, SMB/CIFS, security model.