mikeker's sandbox: Node Edit URL

Creates a "magic" URL that allows anyone to access a single node on your site. This is useful when you have lots of anonymously submitted content that you want to be updated without the visitors having to go through the Drupal registration process.

My use case was a site that allowed governments and NGO's to post climate change case studies for review and collaboration. Once a year we wanted them to update their case studies with recent changes but we didn't want the additional friction of them having to either remember their username/password or go through the "forgotten password" process. Besides, the person in charge of a given project may have changed and we wanted them to be able to forward an email with a "magic" URL rather than reassign the ownership of a node.

Security risks

Anytime you relax Drupal's default node access system, you open a potential security hole for your site. If the "magic" URL is posted publicly, then anyone would be able to edit that node until the Node Edit URL salt setting is changed. If that is a concern (namely, you don't trust those receiving this URL to keep it to themselves), there is an option to allow the URL to be used for a single edit. "One ping only" as Sean Connery once said.