# What is Just-in-Time Access?

> Just-in-time access is a method of granting access or elevated privileges only when they are needed for a defined task, then revoking them automatically after a short period or when the task ends.

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## Content

It reduces standing access: permissions that remain continuously available and can be abused after account compromise or organizational change.

A typical workflow verifies the requester, evaluates policy, records an approval or other authorization basis, activates a temporary role or credential, monitors the session, and removes access at expiry. JIT is often used for administrative privileges, but the same model can govern production systems, sensitive data, cloud roles, and third-party support.

### Key points

- **Request context:** The person or workload, target resource, intended task, required actions, duration, risk, and any approver or ticket reference.
- **Guardrails:** Strong identity assurance, just-enough scope, short expiry, session logging, automatic revocation, extension controls, and a tested emergency-access route.
- **Security benefit:** Reduces the time and number of identities for which high-impact permissions are available to steal or misuse.
- **Important limitation:** Temporary access is not automatically least privilege. An excessive role granted for an hour may still create serious exposure, and failed revocation can turn temporary access into standing access.

### Related terms

[Least privilege](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/least-privilege/>) · [Privileged access management (PAM)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/privileged-access-management/>) · [Non-human identity (NHI)](<https://yellowcube.eu/glossary/non-human-identity/>)

### Sources

[NIST zero-trust architecture: temporary privilege use case](https://pages.nist.gov/zero-trust-architecture/VolumeD/UseCaseB.html) · [CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model 2.0](https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/CISA_Zero_Trust_Maturity_Model_Version_2_508c.pdf)

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