#3096·sherlock

False positive: AniWorld returns "found" for all usernames — profile URLs return 403 Forbidden

Author: surajgoeswithdsCreated Aug 29, 2026Updated Aug 29, 2026
Labelsfalse positive

Additional info

Usernames tested (all returned "Found"):

  • hy_its_ritesh_yt
  • asdkfjasldkfjqwerty12345xyz (deliberately invented, cannot exist anywhere)
  • ThoughtGreedy3596
  • MostAd8747

Evidence: Visiting a reported profile URL directly (e.g. aniworld.to/user/profil/asdkfjasldkfjqwerty12345xyz) returns an HTTP 403 Forbidden page: "Client does not have access rights to the content so server is rejecting to give proper response."

Cause: Automated requests return an HTTP 403 Forbidden due to anti-bot/WAF blocking on AniWorld's end, rather than a data.json syntax error. The missing 404 causes Sherlock to mark the account as found.

Fix: Update the detection rule to treat 403 Forbidden responses as errors/blocked rather than positive matches.

Checked: confirmed AniWorld is not currently listed in false_positive_exclusions.txt.

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Source: sherlock-project/sherlock