Privilege Escalation
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
How It Works
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted. The attack exploits the gap between what the system thinks a user can do and what they actually can do through manipulation or exploitation.
Vertical escalation is the classic form—a regular user obtaining administrator rights. This happens through kernel exploits that bypass OS-level security, misconfigurations in role-based access control (RBAC) that fail to enforce boundaries, or direct manipulation of authorization tokens and session data. Horizontal escalation involves accessing resources belonging to users at the same privilege level, typically through insecure direct object references (IDOR) where changing an ID in a request grants access to another user's data.
Context-dependent escalation exploits workflow logic by skipping authorization checkpoints. An attacker might access administrative URLs directly without going through proper authentication flows, manipulate parameters to bypass permission checks, or exploit REST API endpoints that don't validate method permissions—like a read-only GET permission that can be leveraged for write operations through protocol upgrades or alternative endpoints.
Impact
- Full system compromise through kernel-level exploits granting root or SYSTEM privileges
- Administrative control over applications, allowing configuration changes, user management, and deployment of malicious code
- Lateral movement across cloud infrastructure, containers, or network segments using escalated service account permissions
- Data exfiltration by accessing databases, file systems, or API endpoints restricted to higher privilege levels
- Persistence establishment through creation of backdoor accounts or modification of system configurations
Real-World Examples
Kubernetes clusters have been compromised through kubelet API misconfigurations where read-only GET permissions on worker nodes could be escalated to remote code execution. Attackers upgraded HTTP connections to WebSockets to access the /exec endpoint, gaining shell access to all pods on the node. This affected over 69 Helm charts including widely-deployed monitoring tools like Prometheus, Grafana, and Datadog agents.
Windows Print Spooler vulnerabilities (PrintNightmare class) allowed authenticated users to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges by exploiting improper privilege checks in the print service. Attackers loaded malicious DLLs through carefully crafted print jobs, escalating from low-privilege user accounts to full domain administrator access.
Cloud metadata services have been exploited where SSRF vulnerabilities combined with over-permissioned IAM roles allowed attackers to retrieve temporary credentials with elevated permissions, pivoting from compromised web applications to broader cloud infrastructure access.
Mitigation
- Enforce deny-by-default access control where permissions must be explicitly granted rather than implicitly allowed
- Implement consistent authorization checks at every layer—API gateway, application logic, and data access—never relying on client-side or single-point validation
- Apply principle of least privilege with time-limited, scope-restricted permissions and just-in-time access for administrative functions
- Audit permission inheritance and role assignments regularly to identify overly permissive configurations or privilege creep
- Separate execution contexts using containers, sandboxes, or capability-based security to limit blast radius
- Deploy runtime monitoring for unusual privilege usage patterns and anomalous access to restricted resources
Recent CVEs (14611)
HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise releases up to v202106-1 did not properly perform authorization checks on a subset of API requests executed using the run token, allowing privilege escalation to. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An incorrect permission assignment denial-of-service vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service (SaaS), Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 and Worry-Free Servgices could allow a. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
A flaw was discovered in Puppet DB, this flaw results in an escalation of privileges which allows the user to delete tables via an SQL query. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The combination of various cryptographic issues in the session management of FortiMail 6.4.0 through 6.4.4 and 6.2.0 through 6.2.6, including the encryption construction of the session cookie, may. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM HMC (Hardware Management Console) V9.1.910.0 and V9.2.950.0 could allow a local user to escalate their privileges to root access on a restricted shell. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A DLL search path vulnerability was reported in Lenovo PCManager, prior to version 3.0.500.5102, that could allow privilege escalation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly performs privileged file operations. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Container Isolation FS Filter Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Storage Spaces Controller Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows AppContainer Elevation Of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Remote Access Connection Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows File History Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
1Password Connect server before 1.2 is missing validation checks, permitting users to create Secrets Automation access tokens that can be used to perform privilege escalation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
An Improper Input Validation vulnerability in J-Web of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows a locally authenticated attacker to escalate their privileges to root over the target device. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A local privilege escalation (PE) vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows platforms that enables an authenticated local Windows user to execute programs with SYSTEM. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Icinga is a monitoring system which checks the availability of network resources, notifies users of outages, and generates performance data for reporting. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
iDrive RemotePC before 7.6.48 on Windows allows privilege escalation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A local malicious user can circumvent the Falco detection engine through 0.28.1 by running a program that alters arguments of system calls being executed. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Partition Management Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Console Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Visual Studio Code .NET Runtime Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Storage Spaces Controller Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows InstallService Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Incorrect privileges in the MU55 FlexiSpooler service in YSoft SafeQ 6 6.0.55 allows local user privilege escalation by overwriting the executable file via an alternative data stream. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onCreate of ContactSelectionActivity.java, there is a possible way to get access to contacts without permission due to a tapjacking/overlay attack. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
In onCreateOptionsMenu of WifiNetworkDetailsFragment.java, there is a possible way for guest users to view and modify Wi-Fi settings for all configured APs due to a permissions bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onCreate of DeviceAdminAdd.java, there is a possible way to mislead a user to activate a device admin app due to improper input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onCreate of ConfirmConnectActivity, there is a possible remote bypass of user consent due to improper input validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In BTM_TryAllocateSCN of btm_scn.cc, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In StreamOut::prepareForWriting of StreamOut.cpp, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a use after free. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onCreate of DevicePickerFragment.java, there is a possible way to trick the user to select an unwanted bluetooth device due to a tapjacking/overlay attack. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In beginWrite and beginRead of MessageQueueBase.h, there is a possible out of bounds write due to improper input validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In flv extractor, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a heap buffer overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onPackageAddedInternal of PermissionManagerService.java, there is possible access to external storage due to a permissions bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources due to overly permissive default settings.
In onCreate of PermissionActivity.java, there is a possible permission bypass due to Confusing UI. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources due to overly permissive default settings.
Insecure default variable initialization for the Intel BSSA DFT feature may allow a privileged user to potentially enable an escalation of privilege via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Lexmark Printer Software G2, G3 and G4 Installation Packages have a local escalation of privilege vulnerability due to a registry entry that has an unquoted service path. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In SolarWinds DameWare Mini Remote Control Server 12.0.1.200, insecure file permissions allow file deletion as SYSTEM. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Cloud Pak for Applications 4.3 could allow an authenticated user gain escalated privilesges due to improper application permissions. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Event Streams 10.0, 10.1, 10.2, and 10.3 could allow a user the CA private key to create their own certificates and deploy them in the cluster and gain privileges of another user. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Dell EMC Unity, Unity XT, and UnityVSA versions prior to 5.1.0.0.5.394 do not exit on failed Initialization. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
KramerAV VIAWare, all tested versions, allow privilege escalation through misconfiguration of sudo. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Node.js before 16.4.1, 14.17.2, and 12.22.2 is vulnerable to local privilege escalation attacks under certain conditions on Windows platforms. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
In HMS Ewon eCatcher through 6.6.4, weak filesystem permissions could allow malicious users to access files that could lead to sensitive information disclosure, modification of configuration files,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Improper MDM policy management vulnerability in KME module prior to KCS version 1.39 allows MDM users to bypass Knox Manage authentication. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper input validation vulnerability in AR Emoji Editor prior to version 4.4.03.5 in Android Q(10.0) and above allows untrusted applications to access arbitrary files with an escalated privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper privilege management vulnerability in Bluetooth application prior to SMR July-2021 Release 1 allows untrusted application to access the Bluetooth information in Bluetooth application. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper validation check vulnerability in PackageManager prior to SMR July-2021 Release 1 allows untrusted applications to get dangerous level permission without user confirmation in limited. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trend Micro Password Manager (Consumer) version 5.0.0.1217 and below is vulnerable to an Integer Truncation Privilege Escalation vulnerability which could allow a local attacker to trigger a buffer. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the way IOBit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 14.2.0.220 driver handles Privileged I/O write requests. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the way IOBit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 14.2.0.220 driver handles Privileged I/O write requests. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the way IOBit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 14.2.0.220 driver handles Privileged I/O write requests. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the IOCTL 0x9c406144 handling of IOBit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 14.2.0.220. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Agent in NinjaRMM 5.0.909 has Insecure Permissions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the user profile update component found in the ~/src/Classes/EditUserProfile.php file of the ProfilePress WordPress plugin made it possible for users to escalate their privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the user registration component found in the ~/src/Classes/RegistrationAuth.php file of the ProfilePress WordPress plugin made it possible for users to register on sites as an. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The WP Fluent Forms plugin < 3.6.67 for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery leading to stored Cross-Site Scripting and limited Privilege Escalation due to a missing nonce check in. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could give an authenticated Facility Explorer SNC Series Supervisory Controller (F4-SNC) user an unintended level of access to the controller’s file. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is an Improper Permission Management Vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is a Permission Control Vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is an Improper Permission Management Vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition Vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
A component of the HarmonyOS has a Improper Privilege Management vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A component of the HarmonyOS has a Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
inappropriate x86 IOMMU timeout detection / handling IOMMUs process commands issued to them in parallel with the operation of the CPU(s) issuing such commands. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following vulnerability in arpwatch of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11-SP4-LTSS, SUSE Manager Server 4.0, SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9; openSUSE Factory, Leap 15.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Nessus versions 8.13.2 and earlier were found to contain a privilege escalation vulnerability which could allow a Nessus administrator user to upload a specially crafted file that could lead to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.8 could allow a local user to cause a denial of service due to insecure file permission settings. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Securepoint SSL VPN Client v2 before 2.0.32 on Windows has unsafe configuration handling that enables local privilege escalation to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Nessus Agent 8.2.4 and earlier for Windows were found to contain multiple local privilege escalation vulnerabilities which could allow an authenticated, local administrator to run specific Windows. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Nessus Agent 8.2.4 and earlier for Windows were found to contain multiple local privilege escalation vulnerabilities which could allow an authenticated, local administrator to run specific Windows. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Weidmueller Industrial WLAN devices in multiple versions an exploitable improper access control vulnerability exists in the iw_webs account settings functionality. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Weidmueller Industrial WLAN devices in multiple versions an exploitable privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the iw_console functionality. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Emote Interactive Remote Mouse 3.008 on Windows allows attackers to execute arbitrary programs as Administrator by using the Image Transfer Folder feature to navigate to cmd.exe. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Mozilla Maintenance Service granted SERVICE_START access to BUILTIN|Users which, in a domain network, grants normal remote users access to start or stop the service. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
If a Blob URL was loaded through some unusual user interaction, it could have been loaded by the System Principal and granted additional privileges that should not be granted to web content. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A smart STB product of ZTE is impacted by a permission and access control vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability was discovered in Avaya Aura Appliance Virtualization Platform Utilities (AVPU) that may potentially allow a local user to escalate privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability was discovered in Avaya Aura Utility Services that may potentially allow a local user to escalate privileges. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A privilege escalation vulnerability was discovered in Avaya Aura Utility Services that may potentially allow a local user to execute specially crafted scripts as a privileged user. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Accellion Kiteworks before 7.3.1 allows a user with Admin privileges to escalate their privileges by generating SSH passwords that allow local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
VMware Tools for Windows (11.x.y prior to 11.2.6), VMware Remote Console for Windows (12.x prior to 12.0.1) , VMware App Volumes (2.x prior to 2.18.10 and 4 prior to 2103) contain a local privilege. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Trusty TLK contains a vulnerability in its access permission settings where it does not properly restrict access to a resource from a user with local privileges, which might lead to limited. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.2), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is an improper authorization vulnerability in eCNS280 V100R005C00, V100R005C10 and eSE620X vESS V100R001C10SPC200, V100R001C20SPC200. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In handleAppLaunch of AppLaunchActivity.java, there is a possible arbitrary activity launch due to a confused deputy. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In iaxxx_calc_i2s_div of iaxxx-codec.c, there is a possible hardware port write with user controlled data due to a missing bounds check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In drm_syncobj_handle_to_fd of drm_syncobj.c, there is a possible use after free due to incorrect refcounting. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onBindViewHolder of AppSwitchPreference.java, there is a possible bypass of device admin setttings due to unclear UI. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- HIGH
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 14611