An attacker who is able to successfully circumvent the authentication procedure required by a directory service can then access a large amount of data without authorisation. As a consequence, the entire directory service may be compromised. Furthermore, unauthorised persons may access network resources or services by means of extended authorisations. This may lead to an attacker circumventing all the defensive safeguards of the directory service. The affected system could then be impaired or even destroyed.

The security of a directory service may also be threatened if anonymous users are allowed. Since their identity is not checked, anonymous users are initially able to send any query to the directory service and obtain at least some information on its structure and content. If anonymous access is permitted, it will also be easier for attackers to conduct DoS attacks on the directory service because they will have more access options that are more difficult to control.