What does Sitecore do if a user's permissions conflict with a role they belong to?

When a user's permissions conflict with a role they belong to, Sitecore follows a specific permission management process. In such scenarios, Sitecore denies the conflicting permissions. This means that when there is a discrepancy between what a user's explicit permissions allow and what the assigned role permits, the more restrictive permission prevails, leading to a denial rather than granting access.

The rationale for this approach is rooted in security and user access control; it ensures that users do not gain unintended access that could arise from their roles. The emphasis is on maintaining a strict adherence to the defined permission structure, safeguarding sensitive content and actions. This denial mechanism simplifies the management of permissions by preventing less secure situations where users could exploit overlaps between their individual permissions and their role-based permissions.

Other potential solutions, like defaulting to user permissions, resolving to the least restrictive, or simply combining permissions, do not accurately reflect Sitecore's strategy for handling conflicts, as they could introduce ambiguities or security vulnerabilities. Thus, the denial of permissions in conflict is a clear approach that reinforces security within the Sitecore environment.