What this test checks
The test checks whether the PDF document has restrictive security permissions.
Why this maybe a barrier
Document permissions are security settings in a PDF document that allows to control what users can do with an open document.
It is not advised to set restrictive document permissions which prohibits assistive technology from accessing document content or users from converting documents to alternative accessible formats by copying the content.
Without being able to access the content, the document cannot be processed by assistive technologies, which is a significant accessibility barrier.
How this differs from the Encrypted Document check?
A PDF document need not necessarily be encrypted for it to prevent accessible technologies from accessing its content. Instead it is possible to set permission bits to prevent such access while remaining open for PDF readers. Hence these two checks are different.
WCAG 2.2 Success Criterion
N.A (PDF/UA-only check)
PDF/UA Principle
Section 7.16: Security — This section lists down the security settings required to enable PDF documents for accessibility.
"An encrypted conforming file shall contain a P key in its encryption dictionary (ISO 32000-1:2008,
7.6.3.2, Table 21). The 10th bit position of the P key shall be true."
For implementation, the test uses the following Matterhorn protocol checkpoint namely 26-002:
26-002 — The file is encrypted and does contain a P entry but the 10th bit position of the P entry is false.