A method of authorizing network device operations that are requested by applications is disclosed. A request for authorization from a network management application is received. The request identifies a user who is using the network management application to interact with a network device, the network management application that is seeking to execute one or more application tasks on a network device, the device, and the application tasks. A determination whether the specified user is authorized to execute the application tasks on the device is made. A success message is sent to the application only when the specified user is authorized to execute the application tasks on the device. Other embodiments support authorizing one application task against a plurality of devices or device groups. TACACS+ may be used for communication. A TACACS+ server that can support application authorization, and associated extensions to the TACACS+ protocol, are described.