diff --git a/examples/config-default-authz.json b/examples/config-default-authz.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5c7d7304
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/config-default-authz.json
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+{
+    "distSpecVersion": "1.0.1",
+    "storage": {
+      "rootDirectory": "/tmp/zot"
+    },
+    "http": {
+      "address": "127.0.0.1",
+      "port": "8080",
+      "realm": "zot",
+      "accessControl": {
+        "**": {
+          "defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"] 
+        },
+        "tmp/**": {
+          "defaultPolicy": ["read", "create", "update"]
+        },
+        "infra/**": {
+          "defaultPolicy": ["read"]
+        },
+        "repos2/repo": {
+          "defaultPolicy": ["read"]
+        }
+      }
+    },
+    "log": {
+      "level": "debug"
+    }
+  }
+  
+  
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pkg/api/authz.go b/pkg/api/authz.go
index aaca073e..dcac48a4 100644
--- a/pkg/api/authz.go
+++ b/pkg/api/authz.go
@@ -180,7 +180,14 @@ func AuthzHandler(ctlr *Controller) mux.MiddlewareFunc {
 			}
 
 			acCtrlr := NewAccessController(ctlr.Config)
-			username := getUsername(request)
+
+			// allow anonymous authz if no authn present and only default policies are present
+			username := ""
+
+			if isAuthnEnabled(ctlr.Config) {
+				username = getUsername(request)
+			}
+
 			ctx := acCtrlr.getContext(username, request)
 
 			// will return only repos on which client is authorized to read
@@ -202,7 +209,7 @@ func AuthzHandler(ctlr *Controller) mux.MiddlewareFunc {
 				if ok {
 					is := ctlr.StoreController.GetImageStore(resource)
 					tags, err := is.GetImageTags(resource)
-					// if repo exists and request's tag doesn't exist yet then action is UPDATE
+					// if repo exists and request's tag exists then action is UPDATE
 					if err == nil && common.Contains(tags, reference) && reference != "latest" {
 						action = UPDATE
 					}
diff --git a/pkg/api/config/config.go b/pkg/api/config/config.go
index 181db10d..c1649db2 100644
--- a/pkg/api/config/config.go
+++ b/pkg/api/config/config.go
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ func New() *Config {
 		Commit:          Commit,
 		BinaryType:      BinaryType,
 		Storage:         GlobalStorageConfig{GC: true, GCDelay: storage.DefaultGCDelay, Dedupe: true},
-		HTTP:            HTTPConfig{Address: "127.0.0.1", Port: "8080"},
+		HTTP:            HTTPConfig{Address: "127.0.0.1", Port: "8080", Auth: &AuthConfig{FailDelay: 0}},
 		Log:             &LogConfig{Level: "debug"},
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pkg/api/controller_test.go b/pkg/api/controller_test.go
index bdbad423..698390b4 100644
--- a/pkg/api/controller_test.go
+++ b/pkg/api/controller_test.go
@@ -2096,6 +2096,9 @@ func TestAuthorizationWithBasicAuth(t *testing.T) {
 		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
 
 		manifestBlob := resp.Body()
+		var manifest ispec.Manifest
+		err = json.Unmarshal(manifestBlob, &manifest)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
 
 		// put manifest should get 403 without create perm
 		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).SetBody(manifestBlob).
@@ -2116,25 +2119,100 @@ func TestAuthorizationWithBasicAuth(t *testing.T) {
 		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
 		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
 
+		// create update config and post it.
+		cblob, cdigest := test.GetRandomImageConfig()
+
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			Post(baseURL + "/v2/zot-test/blobs/uploads/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusAccepted)
+		loc = test.Location(baseURL, resp)
+
+		// uploading blob should get 201
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			SetHeader("Content-Length", fmt.Sprintf("%d", len(cblob))).
+			SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream").
+			SetQueryParam("digest", cdigest.String()).
+			SetBody(cblob).
+			Put(loc)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		// create updated layer and post it
+		updateBlob := []byte("Hello, blob update!")
+
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			Post(baseURL + "/v2/zot-test/blobs/uploads/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusAccepted)
+		loc = test.Location(baseURL, resp)
+		// uploading blob should get 201
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			SetHeader("Content-Length", fmt.Sprintf("%d", len(updateBlob))).
+			SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream").
+			SetQueryParam("digest", string(godigest.FromBytes(updateBlob))).
+			SetBody(updateBlob).
+			Put(loc)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		updatedManifest := ispec.Manifest{
+			Config: ispec.Descriptor{
+				MediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.config.v1+json",
+				Digest:    cdigest,
+				Size:      int64(len(cblob)),
+			},
+			Layers: []ispec.Descriptor{
+				{
+					MediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.layer.v1.tar",
+					Digest:    godigest.FromBytes(updateBlob),
+					Size:      int64(len(updateBlob)),
+				},
+			},
+		}
+		updatedManifest.SchemaVersion = 2
+		updatedManifestBlob, err := json.Marshal(updatedManifest)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+
 		// update manifest should get 403 without update perm
-		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).SetBody(manifestBlob).
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).SetBody(updatedManifestBlob).
 			Put(baseURL + "/v2/zot-test/manifests/0.0.2")
 		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
 		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
 		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusForbidden)
 
+		// get the manifest and check if it's the old one
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			Get(baseURL + "/v2/zot-test/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
+		So(resp.Body(), ShouldResemble, manifestBlob)
+
 		// add update perm on repo
 		conf.AccessControl.Repositories["zot-test"].Policies[0].Actions = append(conf.AccessControl.Repositories["zot-test"].Policies[0].Actions, "update") //nolint:lll // gofumpt conflicts with lll
 
 		// update manifest should get 201 with update perm
 		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
 			SetHeader("Content-type", "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json").
-			SetBody(manifestBlob).
+			SetBody(updatedManifestBlob).
 			Put(baseURL + "/v2/zot-test/manifests/0.0.2")
 		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
 		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
 		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
 
+		// get the manifest and check if it's the new updated one
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			Get(baseURL + "/v2/zot-test/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
+		So(resp.Body(), ShouldResemble, updatedManifestBlob)
+
 		// now use default repo policy
 		conf.AccessControl.Repositories["zot-test"].Policies[0].Actions = []string{}
 		repoPolicy = conf.AccessControl.Repositories["zot-test"]
@@ -2280,6 +2358,200 @@ func TestAuthorizationWithBasicAuth(t *testing.T) {
 	})
 }
 
+func TestAuthorizationWithOnlyDefaultPolicy(t *testing.T) {
+	Convey("Make a new controller", t, func() {
+		const TestRepo = "my-repos/repo"
+		port := test.GetFreePort()
+		baseURL := test.GetBaseURL(port)
+
+		conf := config.New()
+		conf.HTTP.Port = port
+		conf.HTTP.Auth = &config.AuthConfig{}
+		conf.AccessControl = &config.AccessControlConfig{
+			Repositories: config.Repositories{
+				TestRepo: config.PolicyGroup{
+					DefaultPolicy: []string{},
+				},
+			},
+		}
+
+		ctlr := api.NewController(conf)
+		dir := t.TempDir()
+		ctlr.Config.Storage.RootDirectory = dir
+
+		go startServer(ctlr)
+		defer stopServer(ctlr)
+		test.WaitTillServerReady(baseURL)
+
+		blob := []byte("hello, blob!")
+		digest := godigest.FromBytes(blob).String()
+
+		resp, err := resty.R().Get(baseURL + "/v2/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
+
+		resp, err = resty.R().Get(baseURL + "/v2/_catalog")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
+		var e api.Error
+		err = json.Unmarshal(resp.Body(), &e)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+
+		// should get 403 without create
+		resp, err = resty.R().Post(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/blobs/uploads/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusForbidden)
+
+		if entry, ok := conf.AccessControl.Repositories[TestRepo]; ok {
+			entry.DefaultPolicy = []string{"create", "read"}
+			conf.AccessControl.Repositories[TestRepo] = entry
+		}
+
+		// now it should get 202
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			Post(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/blobs/uploads/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusAccepted)
+		loc := resp.Header().Get("Location")
+
+		// uploading blob should get 201
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			SetHeader("Content-Length", fmt.Sprintf("%d", len(blob))).
+			SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream").
+			SetQueryParam("digest", digest).
+			SetBody(blob).
+			Put(baseURL + loc)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		cblob, cdigest := test.GetRandomImageConfig()
+
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			Post(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/blobs/uploads/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusAccepted)
+		loc = test.Location(baseURL, resp)
+
+		// uploading blob should get 201
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBasicAuth(username, passphrase).
+			SetHeader("Content-Length", fmt.Sprintf("%d", len(cblob))).
+			SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream").
+			SetQueryParam("digest", cdigest.String()).
+			SetBody(cblob).
+			Put(loc)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		manifest := ispec.Manifest{
+			Config: ispec.Descriptor{
+				MediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.config.v1+json",
+				Digest:    cdigest,
+				Size:      int64(len(cblob)),
+			},
+			Layers: []ispec.Descriptor{
+				{
+					MediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.layer.v1.tar",
+					Digest:    godigest.FromBytes(blob),
+					Size:      int64(len(blob)),
+				},
+			},
+		}
+		manifest.SchemaVersion = 2
+		manifestBlob, err := json.Marshal(manifest)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+
+		resp, err = resty.R().
+			SetHeader("Content-type", "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json").
+			SetBody(manifestBlob).
+			Put(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		updateBlob := []byte("Hello, blob update!")
+
+		resp, err = resty.R().
+			Post(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/blobs/uploads/")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusAccepted)
+		loc = test.Location(baseURL, resp)
+		// uploading blob should get 201
+		resp, err = resty.R().
+			SetHeader("Content-Length", fmt.Sprintf("%d", len(updateBlob))).
+			SetHeader("Content-Type", "application/octet-stream").
+			SetQueryParam("digest", string(godigest.FromBytes(updateBlob))).
+			SetBody(updateBlob).
+			Put(loc)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		updatedManifest := ispec.Manifest{
+			Config: ispec.Descriptor{
+				MediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.config.v1+json",
+				Digest:    cdigest,
+				Size:      int64(len(cblob)),
+			},
+			Layers: []ispec.Descriptor{
+				{
+					MediaType: "application/vnd.oci.image.layer.v1.tar",
+					Digest:    godigest.FromBytes(updateBlob),
+					Size:      int64(len(updateBlob)),
+				},
+			},
+		}
+		updatedManifest.SchemaVersion = 2
+		updatedManifestBlob, err := json.Marshal(updatedManifest)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+
+		// update manifest should get 403 without update perm
+		resp, err = resty.R().SetBody(updatedManifestBlob).
+			Put(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusForbidden)
+
+		// get the manifest and check if it's the old one
+		resp, err = resty.R().
+			Get(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
+		So(resp.Body(), ShouldResemble, manifestBlob)
+
+		// add update perm on repo
+		if entry, ok := conf.AccessControl.Repositories[TestRepo]; ok {
+			entry.DefaultPolicy = []string{"create", "read", "update"}
+			conf.AccessControl.Repositories[TestRepo] = entry
+		}
+
+		// update manifest should get 201 with update perm
+		resp, err = resty.R().
+			SetHeader("Content-type", "application/vnd.oci.image.manifest.v1+json").
+			SetBody(updatedManifestBlob).
+			Put(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusCreated)
+
+		// get the manifest and check if it's the new updated one
+		resp, err = resty.R().
+			Get(baseURL + "/v2/" + TestRepo + "/manifests/0.0.2")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		So(resp, ShouldNotBeNil)
+		So(resp.StatusCode(), ShouldEqual, http.StatusOK)
+		So(resp.Body(), ShouldResemble, updatedManifestBlob)
+	})
+}
+
 func TestInvalidCases(t *testing.T) {
 	Convey("Invalid repo dir", t, func() {
 		port := test.GetFreePort()
diff --git a/pkg/api/routes.go b/pkg/api/routes.go
index a94301f8..382b7f71 100644
--- a/pkg/api/routes.go
+++ b/pkg/api/routes.go
@@ -57,9 +57,15 @@ func allowedMethods(method string) []string {
 // nolint: contextcheck
 func (rh *RouteHandler) SetupRoutes() {
 	rh.c.Router.Use(AuthHandler(rh.c))
-	// authz is being enabled because authn is found
-	if rh.c.Config.AccessControl != nil && !isBearerAuthEnabled(rh.c.Config) && isAuthnEnabled(rh.c.Config) {
-		rh.c.Log.Info().Msg("access control is being enabled")
+	// authz is being enabled if AccessControl is specified
+	// if Authn is not present AccessControl will have only default policies
+	if rh.c.Config.AccessControl != nil && !isBearerAuthEnabled(rh.c.Config) {
+		if isAuthnEnabled(rh.c.Config) {
+			rh.c.Log.Info().Msg("access control is being enabled")
+		} else {
+			rh.c.Log.Info().Msg("default policy only access control is being enabled")
+		}
+
 		rh.c.Router.Use(AuthzHandler(rh.c))
 	}
 
diff --git a/pkg/cli/root.go b/pkg/cli/root.go
index 0567426b..15dbebb9 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/root.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/root.go
@@ -231,10 +231,8 @@ func validateConfiguration(config *config.Config) error {
 	// check authorization config, it should have basic auth enabled or ldap
 	if config.HTTP.RawAccessControl != nil {
 		if config.HTTP.Auth == nil || (config.HTTP.Auth.HTPasswd.Path == "" && config.HTTP.Auth.LDAP == nil) {
-			log.Error().Err(errors.ErrBadConfig).
-				Msg("access control config requires httpasswd or ldap authentication to be enabled")
-
-			return errors.ErrBadConfig
+			// checking for default policy only authorization config: no users, no policies but default policy
+			checkForDefaultPolicyConfig(config)
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -311,6 +309,15 @@ func validateConfiguration(config *config.Config) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func checkForDefaultPolicyConfig(config *config.Config) {
+	if !isDefaultPolicyConfig(config) {
+		log.Error().Err(errors.ErrBadConfig).
+			Msg("access control config requires httpasswd, ldap authentication " +
+				"or using only 'defaultPolicy' policies")
+		panic(errors.ErrBadConfig)
+	}
+}
+
 func applyDefaultValues(config *config.Config, viperInstance *viper.Viper) {
 	defaultVal := true
 
@@ -431,3 +438,30 @@ func LoadConfiguration(config *config.Config, configPath string) error {
 
 	return nil
 }
+
+func isDefaultPolicyConfig(cfg *config.Config) bool {
+	adminPolicy := cfg.AccessControl.AdminPolicy
+
+	log.Info().Msg("checking if default authorization is possible")
+
+	if len(adminPolicy.Actions)+len(adminPolicy.Users) > 0 {
+		log.Info().Msg("admin policy detected, default authorization disabled")
+
+		return false
+	}
+
+	for _, repository := range cfg.AccessControl.Repositories {
+		for _, policy := range repository.Policies {
+			if len(policy.Actions)+len(policy.Users) > 0 {
+				log.Info().Interface("repository", repository).
+					Msg("repository with non-empty policy detected, default authorization disabled")
+
+				return false
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	log.Info().Msg("default authorization detected")
+
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cli/root_test.go b/pkg/cli/root_test.go
index 0330acd5..3072aaa8 100644
--- a/pkg/cli/root_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cli/root_test.go
@@ -174,6 +174,62 @@ func TestVerify(t *testing.T) {
 		So(func() { _ = cli.NewServerRootCmd().Execute() }, ShouldNotPanic)
 	})
 
+	Convey("Test verify default authorization", t, func(c C) {
+		tmpfile, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "zot-test*.json")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		defer os.Remove(tmpfile.Name()) // clean up
+		content := []byte(`{"storage":{"rootDirectory":"/tmp/zot"},
+		 					"http":{"address":"127.0.0.1","port":"8080","realm":"zot",
+							 "accessControl":{"**":{"defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"]},
+							 "/repo":{"defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"]}
+							 }}}`)
+		_, err = tmpfile.Write(content)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		err = tmpfile.Close()
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		os.Args = []string{"cli_test", "verify", tmpfile.Name()}
+		So(func() { _ = cli.NewServerRootCmd().Execute() }, ShouldNotPanic)
+	})
+
+	Convey("Test verify default authorization fail", t, func(c C) {
+		tmpfile, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "zot-test*.json")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		defer os.Remove(tmpfile.Name()) // clean up
+		content := []byte(`{"storage":{"rootDirectory":"/tmp/zot"},
+		 					"http":{"address":"127.0.0.1","port":"8080","realm":"zot",
+							 "accessControl":{"**":{"defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"]},
+							 "/repo":{"defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"]},
+							 "adminPolicy":{"users":["admin"],
+							 "actions":["read","create","update","delete"]}
+							 }}}`)
+		_, err = tmpfile.Write(content)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		err = tmpfile.Close()
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		os.Args = []string{"cli_test", "verify", tmpfile.Name()}
+		So(func() { _ = cli.NewServerRootCmd().Execute() }, ShouldPanic)
+	})
+
+	Convey("Test verify default authorization fail", t, func(c C) {
+		tmpfile, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "zot-test*.json")
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		defer os.Remove(tmpfile.Name()) // clean up
+		content := []byte(`{"storage":{"rootDirectory":"/tmp/zot"},
+							"http":{"address":"127.0.0.1","port":"8080","realm":"zot",
+							"accessControl":{"**":{"defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"]},
+							"/repo":{"defaultPolicy": ["read", "create"]},
+							"/repo2":{"policies": [{
+								 "users": ["charlie"],
+								 "actions": ["read", "create", "update"]}]}
+							}}}`)
+		_, err = tmpfile.Write(content)
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		err = tmpfile.Close()
+		So(err, ShouldBeNil)
+		os.Args = []string{"cli_test", "verify", tmpfile.Name()}
+		So(func() { _ = cli.NewServerRootCmd().Execute() }, ShouldPanic)
+	})
+
 	Convey("Test verify w/ sync and w/o filesystem storage", t, func(c C) {
 		tmpfile, err := ioutil.TempFile("", "zot-test*.json")
 		So(err, ShouldBeNil)