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 (14425)
Account takeover of Oracle iSetup (component of Oracle E-Business Suite 12.2.3 through 12.2.15) is achievable by a low-privileged authenticated attacker reaching the General Ledger Update Transform / Reports component over HTTP. The flaw is rated CVSS 8.8 with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis. Oracle published the fix in the June 2026 Critical Patch Update.
Takeover of Oracle Complex Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (CMRO) in Oracle E-Business Suite versions 12.2.3 through 12.2.15 allows a low-privileged authenticated attacker with HTTP network access to fully compromise the Internal Operations component. Oracle's June 2026 Critical Patch Update advisory documents the issue with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the vulnerability is rated difficult to exploit due to high attack complexity.
Local privilege abuse in Oracle Solaris 11.4 allows a low-privileged authenticated user with logon access to the host to read sensitive filesystem data and trigger a complete denial of service of the operating system. Oracle's June 2026 Critical Patch Update lists this as easily exploitable through the Filesystem component, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1; no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not on the CISA KEV list.
Privilege escalation and full takeover of Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne General Ledger 9.2 (E1 Foundation component) is possible by a low-privileged network attacker via SMB, with scope change to other products. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the CVSS 9.9 score and 'easily exploitable' vendor characterization make this a high-priority patching target for ERP operators.
Account takeover of the Siebel CRM Integration component (EAI) in Oracle Siebel CRM versions 17.0 through 26.5 allows a low-privileged remote attacker with HTTP network access to fully compromise the integration component, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Oracle rates this 'easily exploitable' with CVSS 3.1 score 8.8, but no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation and host takeover in Oracle VM VirtualBox 7.2.8 via the VMSVGA virtual graphics device allows a high-privileged local attacker to break out of the virtualization boundary and impact additional products beyond VirtualBox itself (scope change). The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, but exploitation is rated high complexity. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Privileged takeover of Oracle Enterprise Manager Base Platform versions 13.5 and 24.1 is possible through the Extensibility Framework component, enabling an authenticated high-privilege attacker with HTTPS network access to fully compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the management platform. The vendor (Oracle) advisory rates the issue at CVSS 3.1 7.2, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, but successful exploitation yields complete product takeover. EPSS and CISA KEV signals are not provided in the input data.
Privileged takeover of Oracle Enterprise Manager Base Platform versions 13.5 and 24.1 is possible through the Metadata Plugin component, allowing a low-privileged remote attacker over HTTPS to fully compromise the platform with a scope change that impacts additional products. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.9 reflects the broad confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not currently listed in CISA KEV.
Cross-tenant data compromise in Oracle WebCenter Content 14.1.2.0.0 (Content Server component) allows a low-privileged authenticated attacker to coerce another user into an interaction that yields unauthorized read, create, modify, or delete access to all WebCenter Content data, with a scope change extending impact to additional Oracle Fusion Middleware products. Disclosed in Oracle's June 2026 Critical Patch Update with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.7; no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation to full takeover in Oracle Identity Manager Connector (Fusion Middleware) allows a low-privileged remote attacker with SSH network access to compromise the Generic Unix Connector and pivot into additional Fusion Middleware components via a CVSS scope change. Versions 12.2.1.4.0 and 14.1.2.1.0 are affected, with Oracle rating the issue 9.9 due to high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact across product boundaries. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the AV:N/AC:L profile and SSH-reachable attack surface make this a high-priority Oracle CPU item.
Privilege escalation and full takeover in Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PT PeopleTools 8.61 and 8.62 (Deployment Package component) allows a high-privileged attacker with logon access to the underlying infrastructure to fully compromise PeopleTools with a scope change that impacts additional products. Oracle rates this CVSS 8.2 and confirms it is easily exploitable once the attacker has the required local privileges. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Full compromise of Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise PT PeopleTools 8.61 and 8.62 is possible via the Deployment Package component, where an unauthenticated attacker with logon access to the underlying host can take over the PeopleTools instance. Oracle rates this 8.4 CVSS with full confidentiality, integrity and availability impact, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The local attack vector keeps remote internet-based mass exploitation unlikely, but any user who can log on to the PeopleTools server should be treated as a critical risk.
Out-of-bounds heap write in Android's native RTP stack (numberOfReportBlocks handling in RtpSession.cpp) allows a network-adjacent attacker to corrupt memory and achieve remote escalation of privilege without user interaction. The flaw stems from an integer overflow when counting RTCP report blocks, and it affects Android/Pixel builds prior to the June 2026 security patch level. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, EPSS risk is low (0.23%), and CISA has not listed it in KEV.
Local privilege escalation in the Android kernel's msg_to_host_buffer.cc component allows a low-privileged local process to corrupt memory via an out-of-bounds write, gaining elevated privileges without user interaction. The flaw stems from an incorrect bounds check on a host buffer write path and carries a CVSS 7.8 (High) rating with total technical impact. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, and CISA's SSVC framework marks exploitation as none, consistent with the very low EPSS score (0.11%).
Local privilege escalation in the Android kernel affects Pixel and other Android devices through a logic error in OSMMapPMRGeneric within pmr_os.c, the PowerVR/Imagination-style PMR (Physical Memory Resource) memory-management code. A local attacker chaining system calls can maliciously expand a Virtual Memory Area (VMA) out of bounds, corrupting kernel memory to gain root-equivalent privileges. Rated CVSS 7.8 with no public exploit identified at time of analysis; EPSS is 0.07% and CISA SSVC reports no observed exploitation, indicating this is a patched-early, not-yet-weaponized issue.
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw before 2026.5.7 allows any user with a Discord account to assume the identity of a privileged Discord user authorized in the agent's allowFrom policy by simply renaming their account, because the access-control check matches on mutable display names rather than immutable Discord user IDs (snowflakes). No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV, but exploitation is trivial for anyone who can read the target policy.
Privilege escalation in the WebRender graphics component of Mozilla Firefox enables remote attackers to elevate privileges within the browser sandbox when a victim loads malicious web content. Mozilla has patched the issue in Firefox 152, Firefox ESR 140.12, and Firefox ESR 115.37, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis.
Privilege escalation in the LatePoint Calendar Booking plugin for WordPress (versions up to and including 5.5.1) allows an authenticated user with Agent-level access or higher to chain three independent flaws and overwrite a WordPress Administrator's password without invoking any Administrator-only API. Wordfence-reported flaw with no public exploit identified at time of analysis, though source code locations of all three vulnerable code paths are referenced in the disclosure.
Local privilege escalation and denial of service in HP One Agent software on HP PC products allow authenticated low-privileged users to gain elevated rights or disrupt the agent. HP has acknowledged the issue and is releasing software updates as mitigation. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the flaw is not listed on CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in Dokan WordPress plugin versions 5.0.2 and earlier allows authenticated low-privileged customer accounts to elevate their permissions within the multivendor marketplace, potentially gaining vendor or administrative capabilities. The flaw was disclosed via Patchstack and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 with high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability; no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the vulnerability is not currently listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in the LatePoint WordPress plugin versions 5.5.1 and earlier allows authenticated users holding low-privileged contributor accounts to elevate to higher-privileged roles, according to a Patchstack advisory. CVSS 3.1 scores this 7.5 (High) with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, though high attack complexity and required low privileges constrain trivial exploitation. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Unauthenticated privilege escalation in the Listdom WordPress plugin versions 5.5.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to elevate privileges without any authentication or user interaction. The flaw is tracked under CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment) and was reported by Patchstack; no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Affected sites running this Webilia-developed directory listing plugin face risk of unauthorized account or capability elevation through exposed plugin endpoints.
Privilege escalation in the Amelia booking plugin for WordPress (versions 2.3 and earlier) allows an authenticated low-privileged user (Subscriber role) to gain higher WordPress privileges. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) indicates a network-reachable flaw exploitable with only minimal account access, yielding high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Unauthenticated privilege escalation in the WP BASE Booking WordPress plugin (versions through 5.9.0) allows remote attackers to elevate privileges without credentials, with potential to fully compromise affected WordPress sites. The flaw is rated CVSS 8.1 (high) with no public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the unauthenticated nature and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability make it a notable risk for sites running the plugin.
Unauthenticated privilege escalation in the Datalogics Ecommerce Delivery WordPress plugin (versions ≤ 2.6.62) allows remote attackers to gain elevated privileges on affected WordPress sites without any credentials or user interaction. The flaw, tracked by Patchstack and assigned a CVSS 9.8, enables full compromise of site integrity and confidentiality; no public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the network-reachable, no-auth nature makes opportunistic exploitation likely once details circulate.
Privilege escalation in the B Blocks WordPress plugin through version 2.0.31 allows authenticated users with Contributor-level access to elevate their privileges on the affected site. Reported by Patchstack and tracked as EUVD-2026-36965, the issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 reflecting full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact once a low-privileged WordPress account is obtained. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the low attack complexity and lack of required user interaction make weaponization straightforward once an exploitation primitive is published.
Privilege escalation in the WooCommerce Cart Abandonment Recovery WordPress plugin before version 2.1.0 allows an authenticated shop manager to elevate privileges beyond their intended role on affected WordPress sites. The flaw, tracked as CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment), carries a CVSS 7.2 (High) score and has a vendor-released patch in 2.1.0, with no public exploit identified at time of analysis.
Unauthenticated privilege escalation in iControlWP WordPress plugin versions 5.5.3 and earlier allows remote attackers to gain elevated privileges on affected WordPress sites without authentication. Reported by Patchstack and rated CVSS 9.8, the flaw maps to CWE-266 (Incorrect Privilege Assignment) and impacts the worpit-admin-dashboard-plugin distribution. No public exploit identified at time of analysis and the vulnerability is not currently listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in the AI Engine WordPress plugin (Meow Apps) through version 3.4.9 allows authenticated users with Editor-level access to elevate their privileges to Administrator. CVSS rates this 7.2 (High) given high privileges required but full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not present in CISA KEV.
DOM Clobbering and HTTP Transfer Cache poisoning in Angular's Client Hydration (provideClientHydration) allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary JSON into the TransferState by hijacking the predictable 'ng-state' element ID. Affected versions are @angular/core 20.x through 22.x prior to the fixes, and the flaw can be leveraged for DOM-based XSS, privilege escalation, or UI hijacking when applications bind untrusted input to element id attributes. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but a vendor patch and detailed advisory (GHSA-rgjc-h3x7-9mwg) are available.
Privilege escalation in the ThemeGrill Masteriyo LMS WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 2.2.0) allows authenticated low-privileged users to elevate their permissions to higher roles, including administrator. The flaw stems from incorrect privilege assignment (CWE-266) and carries a CVSS 8.8 with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact across the WordPress instance. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the Patchstack disclosure is the sole reference currently available.
Local privilege escalation in multiple Ricoh and Konica Minolta printer drivers on Windows hosts allows an authenticated low-privileged user to gain higher privileges by supplying a specially crafted driver component. The flaw is rooted in CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element), and at time of analysis no public exploit identified at time of analysis. CVSS 4.0 of 8.5 reflects high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact despite requiring local access.
Local privilege escalation in Microvirt MEmu Android Emulator 9.2.7.0 allows a low-privileged local user to abuse the MemuService.exe component to gain elevated rights on the host Windows system. Mapped to CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), with no public exploit identified at time of analysis and an EPSS score of 0.21% indicating low predicted exploitation likelihood. Researcher PoC repository exists on GitHub (sec-zone/CVE-2026-36213) but active exploitation has not been reported.
Local privilege escalation in Iru, Inc Kandji Agent versions prior to 4.7.5(5374) allows a local attacker to invoke restricted agent functionality by exploiting a client-side validation gap. The flaw maps to CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management) and carries a CVSS 8.4 rating due to high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, though no public exploit identified at time of analysis and EPSS is low at 0.14%.
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw before 2026.5.3 allows attackers with access to a Slack account to spoof identity by changing their mutable Slack display name to match an allowFrom policy entry, gaining agent access intended for another user. The root cause is authentication binding to a mutable identifier (CWE-290) rather than a stable Slack user ID. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, though an upstream advisory (GHSA-c29c-2q9c-pc86) and VulnCheck writeup describe the flaw in detail.
Privilege escalation in MISP (Malware Information Sharing Platform) allows an authenticated organization administrator to target site administrator accounts within their own organization via the administrative email functionality, enabling privileged actions such as triggering a password-reset workflow against a higher-privileged user. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV. Successful exploitation results in full takeover of the targeted site admin account and complete compromise of the MISP instance.
Cross-tenant container deletion in the Radius Kubernetes controller (versions <= v0.57.1) allows a tenant with Deployment annotation-edit rights to coerce the high-privilege controller into deleting another tenant's container resource by injecting a forged radapp.io/status JSON blob. The flaw is a classic Confused Deputy (CWE-441/CWE-20) that yields an availability-only impact, is most severe in multi-tenant installs, and currently has publicly available exploit code via the GHSA advisory but no public exploit identified at time of analysis in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in Zoom Workplace mobile clients (Android before 7.0.4, iOS before 7.0.3) stems from improper authorization in the handler for a custom URL scheme, allowing a remote attacker to elevate privileges over network access. The CVSS 8.1 rating reflects high confidentiality and integrity impact with low-complexity exploitation, though no public exploit identified at time of analysis and the issue is not on the CISA KEV list.
Privilege escalation in the Zoom Workplace mobile app (Android before 7.0.4, iOS before 7.0.3) stems from improper authorization in the handler that processes the app's custom URL scheme, allowing an unauthenticated actor to elevate privileges via network access. Zoom self-reported and patched the flaw, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis; EPSS remains very low (0.04%, 12th percentile) and CISA SSVC marks exploitation as none, indicating no observed activity despite the 9.8 CVSS score.
Local privilege escalation in Remote Control for Zoom Contact Center for Windows prior to version 7.0.0 allows an authenticated user with local access to elevate privileges due to insufficient verification of data authenticity. The flaw, reported by Zoom and tracked in bulletin ZSB-26009, carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (High) with no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Exploitation requires existing local authenticated access, which limits opportunistic abuse but makes this a strong post-compromise pivot on workstations running the Zoom Contact Center remote control component.
Privilege escalation in Ubiquiti UniFi OS allows a low-privileged attacker with network access to elevate privileges on affected UniFi OS devices and instances due to improper input validation (CWE-20). The CVSS 9.9 score reflects a scope-changing impact spanning UniFi Dream Machine, UniFi Express, UDR, UCG, UNVR, UNAS, and other UniFi OS Server platforms. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the vulnerability is not currently listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in phpBB allows an authenticated administrator with limited rights to grant themselves permissions beyond their authorized scope through the Administration Control Panel (ACP), enabling elevation to full administrative control over the forum. The flaw stems from improper verification of access permissions when permissions are modified via the ACP, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. With CVSS 7.2 (PR:H) and no KEV listing, this is a meaningful but not panic-level risk that primarily threatens multi-admin phpBB deployments where administrative duties are intentionally segmented.
Privilege escalation in the Hippoo Mobile App for WooCommerce WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 1.9.4) allows remote unauthenticated attackers to elevate privileges on affected sites due to incorrect privilege assignment (CWE-266). With a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and Patchstack-reported network-exploitable characteristics, this issue can lead to full compromise of WooCommerce-backed WordPress stores; no public exploit identified at time of analysis.
Sandbox escape in Google Chrome prior to 149.0.7827.115 allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to break out of the Headless component sandbox via a crafted HTML page. The flaw is rated High severity by Chromium and carries CVSS 9.6 due to scope change and user interaction, though EPSS remains very low (0.03%) and there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis. A vendor patch is available in the stable channel update published June 2026.
Local privilege escalation in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 149.0.7827.115 stems from an inappropriate implementation in the Mojo IPC layer, allowing a local attacker who can place a malicious file on the system to elevate to OS-level privileges. The flaw is rated High severity by Chromium and carries CVSS 8.8, with a vendor patch available and no public exploit identified at time of analysis.
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw before 2026.5.20 allows attackers holding a valid hook token to invoke owner-only MCP tools through the /hooks/agent endpoint, because hook-triggered agent runs are incorrectly granted owner-scoped MCP loopback authority. Successful exploitation lets a low-privileged hook caller execute privileged actions such as modifying persistent cron state, with no public exploit identified at time of analysis.
Privilege escalation in OpenClaw before 2026.5.7 allows authenticated Matrix users to impersonate other identities by manipulating their mutable display name to match policy entries in the allowFrom feature. The flaw stems from authentication relying on a user-controlled attribute (CWE-290), letting attackers receive agent access intended for another Matrix identity. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but a vendor patch and VulnCheck advisory are available.
Local privilege escalation in CyberArk (Idira) Endpoint Privilege Manager Agent versions prior to 26.5 allows low-privileged users on Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints to abuse improper access controls in high-privileged agent components and execute actions with elevated privileges. The flaw was reported by Palo Alto Networks (CyberArk's parent) and addressed in agent version 26.5.0, with no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Because EPM is itself a privilege-management control, a bypass directly undermines the security posture of every endpoint where it is deployed.
Local privilege escalation in Check Point Identity Agent Full for Windows allows an authenticated local user to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges through improper executable resolution during the log collection process. The flaw is a classic CWE-427 uncontrolled search path issue, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis. Exploitation is constrained to attackers who already have a foothold on the endpoint but provides a reliable path to full SYSTEM compromise.
Local arbitrary code execution in PDM (Python Development Master) versions <= 2.26.9 allows attacker-controlled repositories to execute Python code under the invoking user's privileges when any pdm command (even `pdm --version`) is run inside a malicious checkout. The root cause is implicit loading of project-local `.pdm-plugins` via `site.addsitedir()`, which processes `.pth` files containing executable `import` statements before CLI parsing. Publicly available exploit code exists in the advisory PoC, and CWE-94 code injection is confirmed; no public exploit identified at time of analysis as actively used in the wild.
Privilege escalation in Fission (Kubernetes-native serverless framework) prior to version 1.25.0 allows a tenant with permission to create Function or Environment CRDs to obtain CAP_SYS_TIME inside function/runtime containers by bypassing an incomplete capability denylist in the ValidatePodSpecSafety admission webhook. The denylist only blocked six Linux capabilities (SYS_ADMIN, NET_ADMIN, SYS_PTRACE, SYS_MODULE, DAC_READ_SEARCH, DAC_OVERRIDE) and omitted CAP_SYS_TIME and others, letting tenant-controlled code modify the container's system clock. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the upstream patch and CRD diff are publicly visible in fission/fission PR #3465.
Privilege escalation in Fission prior to version 1.24.0 allows a tenant holding environments.fission.io create/update RBAC to define Environment custom resources with privileged, allowPrivilegeEscalation, or dangerous Linux capabilities on the bare Runtime.Container or Builder.Container fields, which bypass the existing PodSpec safety validator and get scheduled under the executor's high-privilege service account. Successful abuse enables container-sandbox escape, host filesystem and network access, and node- or cluster-level compromise. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the upstream fix is published in v1.24.0.
Privilege escalation in Fission (Kubernetes-native serverless framework) prior to version 1.24.0 allows a tenant with Environment CRD write access to escape the container sandbox and reach node- or cluster-level privileges by setting unfiltered fields in spec.runtime.podSpec or spec.builder.podSpec. Because the fission-executor and fission-builder service accounts schedule pods on the tenant's behalf, attacker-controlled values for hostNetwork, hostPID, hostIPC, container privileged, and serviceAccountName are merged into pod specs without validation. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the patch's hardening scope (also closing GHSA-wmgg-3p4h-48x7 and GHSA-v455-mv2v-5g92) shows the issue is broader than a single field.
Privilege escalation in Fission (Kubernetes-native serverless framework) prior to version 1.24.0 allows a tenant with Function CRUD permissions to supply an arbitrary Function.spec.podspec that the Container Executor merges into the executor-built podspec, resulting in a Deployment whose pods can break the container sandbox and reach node or cluster level. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the upstream fix (PR #3391) explicitly enumerates host namespaces, privileged contexts, hostPath mounts, service account overrides, and dangerous Linux capabilities as the abused fields. CVSS 9.9 with scope change (S:C) reflects that a low-privilege tenant can pivot beyond its own RBAC boundary.
Privilege escalation in Fission prior to 1.24.0 allows an authenticated user with permission to create or modify Environment custom resources to abuse unvalidated podSpec passthrough fields (Environment.spec.runtime.podSpec and spec.builder.podSpec), causing MergePodSpec to propagate dangerous fields - notably AutomountServiceAccountToken - into the generated builder/runtime pods. Because the fission-builder ServiceAccount token then becomes accessible from a user-supplied container, an attacker can pivot from a Fission tenant into broader Kubernetes cluster privileges (CVSS 9.9, Scope:Changed). No public exploit identified at time of analysis.
Privilege escalation in Apache OFBiz versions prior to 24.09.07 allows a low-privileged authenticated user to elevate their permissions to a higher-privileged role, leading to full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the ERP system. The flaw is rooted in improper authorization (CWE-285) and is exploitable remotely over the network with low complexity once valid low-tier credentials are held. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS scoring (0.02%) plus CISA SSVC (Exploitation: none) suggest no observed exploitation activity yet.
Drift-detection logic flaw in the @hulumi/drift npm package (versions < 1.4.0) causes the verdict classifier to conflate adapter failure with a clean result, producing cached false-negative 'None / none' verdicts for up to six hours and false-positive incident-severity 'Mixed / high' or 'ConsoleBreakGlass / high' verdicts based on probe liveness rather than CloudTrail evidence. Consumers running drift detection in CI or cron pipelines could silently miss real console-break-glass mutations or be paged on routine provider-version churn. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; the issue is a CWE-755 improper-exception-handling defect rather than a remote attack primitive.
Local privilege escalation in Slate Digital Connect 1.37.0 for macOS allows unprivileged users on the host to gain root-level capabilities by abusing a TOCTOU race in the privileged helper's XPC client validation. The com.slatedigital.connect.privileged.helper.tool2 service identifies callers by PID and then queries code-signing information, but PID reuse lets an attacker substitute a trusted process between check and use. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS is very low (0.02%), but the technical pattern is well-known on macOS and a SEC Consult advisory describes the flaw in detail.
Local privilege escalation in Slate Digital Connect 1.37.0 for macOS allows unprivileged users to execute commands as root by connecting to the privileged XPC helper service with a self-signed certificate whose subject OU matches the expected value. The flaw stems from improper certificate validation (CWE-296) in the helper's client authorization logic, which fails to verify the certificate chains to a trusted code-signing authority. No public exploit is identified in CISA KEV at time of analysis, and EPSS reflects very low (0.01%) near-term exploitation probability, but a detailed vendor-lab advisory is publicly available.
Local privilege escalation in the ansible.posix collection's authorized_key module allows an unprivileged local user to redirect root-owned file ownership changes to arbitrary system paths via symlink attacks in ~/.ssh. The module's keyfile() function calls os.chown() instead of os.lchown() and omits O_NOFOLLOW when opening files, so a pre-staged symlink is followed during privileged execution. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the technique is a well-understood TOCTOU/symlink class with a moderate-to-high CVSS (7.3).
Local privilege escalation in Omnissa Workspace ONE Assist for macOS allows an authenticated local user with low privileges to escalate to higher privileges through a path traversal weakness (CWE-22). The flaw carries a CVSS 7.8 (High) rating with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The vulnerability is tracked under Omnissa advisory OMSA-2026-0001 and is specific to the macOS build of the Assist remote-support agent.
Local privilege escalation in Waves Central for macOS (13.0.9 through 16.5.5) allows an unprivileged local user to gain root code execution by exploiting a time-of-check/time-of-use race in the privileged helper's XPC client validation. The helper trusts the connecting process's PID to verify code-signing identity, but PID reuse permits an attacker-controlled process to masquerade as a legitimate Waves client. SSVC reports a public proof-of-concept exists; the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Local privilege escalation in Waves Central for macOS versions 13.0.9 through 16.5.5 allows an unprivileged user to gain root code execution by injecting a malicious dylib into a trusted XPC client process via DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES. The injected code then abuses the product's privileged helper service to perform operations as root. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS probability is very low (0.02%), consistent with a local-only macOS desktop attack surface.
Local privilege escalation in the Linux kernel's net/sched act_ct traffic control action stems from a use-after-free in tcf_ct_flow_table_get(), where rhashtable_lookup_fast() releases the RCU read lock before refcount_inc_not_zero() can pin the returned ct_ft object. EPSS is very low (0.02%, 7th percentile) and no public exploit identified at time of analysis, but Trend Micro ZDI provided detailed root-cause analysis and stable-tree patches are merged across 5.10 through 6.18 lines. Successful exploitation grants attacker-controlled kernel memory access enabling privilege escalation to root.
SQL injection and privilege escalation in TYPO3 CMS 14.0.0 through 14.3.3 allow authenticated backend users holding write permissions on the form_definition table to bypass the Form Framework's persistence validation by submitting form configurations directly through DataHandler. Successful exploitation re-opens the attack class originally fixed in TYPO3-CORE-SA-2018-003, enabling injection of arbitrary form configurations that yield SQLi and elevation of privileges. No public exploit identified at time of analysis; not listed in CISA KEV.
Local privilege escalation in Siemens SINEC INS (versions prior to V1.0 SP2 Update 6) stems from a binary shipped with the Linux cap_dac_override capability, which bypasses filesystem discretionary access control checks. An authenticated local attacker can leverage this overly broad capability to read or modify any file on the system, ultimately obtaining root. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in the Events Calendar for GeoDirectory WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 2.3.28) allows authenticated Subscriber-level users to elevate to Administrator by abusing the ajax_ayi_action() AJAX handler, which writes attacker-controlled POST parameters directly into the wp_capabilities user meta key. The flaw stems from insufficient input filtering (strip_tags/esc_sql with no allow-list) on the type and postid fields before they reach update_user_meta(), enabling an attacker to set their own role to administrator. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation and cross-tenant resource takeover in juev/nebula-mesh versions prior to v0.3.4 allow any authenticated low-privilege operator to mint admin API keys, hijack other operators' hosts via the reenroll endpoint, and perform unauthorized CRUD across hosts, networks, and firewall rules. The `/api/v1/*` route surface trusts the bearer token for authorization without enforcing per-CA ownership checks that the Web UI applies, breaking the per-operator CA tenancy model from ADR 0002. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, though a detailed exploit chain with working curl commands is published in the GHSA advisory.
Privilege escalation in the Booking Package plugin for WordPress (versions up to and including 1.7.16) allows authenticated attackers with Editor-level access or above to take over any account, including Administrator accounts, by abusing the 'updateUser' branch of the package_app_action AJAX endpoint. The handler validates only a nonce and passes a hard-coded administrator flag to Schedule::updateUser(), letting attackers supply arbitrary target user IDs to wp_update_user() and reset the email and password of any account. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the issue was disclosed by Wordfence and results in full site compromise once an Editor account is obtained.
Local privilege escalation in clash-verge-service-ipc before 2.3.0 allows unprivileged local users on macOS and Linux to interact with a world-reachable IPC socket exposed by the privileged Clash Verge service, enabling them to invoke service operations that run with elevated rights. The upstream fix (PR #23) restricts IPC permissions to 0750 on the directory and 0660 on the socket, and the patched dependency was incorporated into the Clash Verge Rev desktop client. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not present in CISA KEV.
Privilege escalation in the AWS Advanced Go Wrapper for Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL (GlobalDatabasePlugin) allows an authenticated low-privilege RDS user to gain the privileges of another user — including rds_superuser — by planting a malicious function on an untrusted search path that executes when the targeted user connects through the wrapper. The flaw is rated CVSS 4.0 8.6 (High) and requires user interaction (the victim must initiate a connection via the wrapper), with no public exploit identified at time of analysis. A vendor patch is available in release 2026-05-26.
Privilege escalation in the AWS Advanced JDBC Wrapper for Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL (versions prior to 4.0.1) allows a remote authenticated low-privilege RDS user to gain the privileges of another database user - including rds_superuser - by planting a crafted function that executes when the higher-privileged user connects to the cluster through the affected wrapper. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the vendor (Amazon) released a fix in version 4.0.1 on 2026-05-13 that fully qualifies function calls in PostgreSQL topology detection queries to close the search-path attack surface.
Remote code execution in DbGate (npm package dbgate-api) versions 7.1.8 and earlier allows any authenticated user with basic access to execute arbitrary OS commands by injecting JavaScript into the `functionName` parameter of the `POST /runners/load-reader` endpoint. The flaw stems from unsanitized string interpolation into a server-side script template, and the `require=null` sandbox is bypassed via `process.binding("spawn_sync")`. Publicly available exploit code exists (vendor-published PoC in the GHSA advisory), and the issue carries a CVSS 8.8 rating with low-complexity, low-privilege exploitation.
Authenticated remote code execution in DbGate (all versions through 7.1.8) allows any user with valid credentials to execute arbitrary OS commands as the process owner - root in Docker - by injecting newline-delimited JavaScript into the unsanitized `functionName` parameter of the `/runners/load-reader` API endpoint. A prior partial mitigation (`require = null`) introduced in commit cf3f95c (June 2025) is trivially bypassed using the dynamic `import()` language keyword, which cannot be nullified at runtime. Publicly available exploit code exists demonstrating full root-level command execution; this vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV at time of analysis.
Out-of-bounds heap write in X.Org X server and Xwayland DRI2 buffer handling allows a local authenticated client to corrupt server memory by requesting multiple DRI2BufferBackLeft attachments alongside one DRI2BufferFrontLeft. Successful exploitation crashes the display server or, when the X server runs setuid root (a still-common legacy deployment), enables local privilege escalation to root. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Local privilege escalation in the X.Org X server and Xwayland arises from a use-after-free in SyncChangeCounter() that a local authenticated attacker can trigger by orchestrating two client connections - one creating multiple SyncCounters, the other destroying them while they are being changed. On systems where the X server still runs as root (common on legacy Linux setups), successful exploitation yields root code execution; at minimum it crashes the display server. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but the bug is confirmed by Red Hat and a fix has landed upstream in xserver.
Local privilege escalation in the X.Org X server and Xwayland arises from a use-after-free in FreeCounter() when SyncCounter objects are destroyed across multiple client connections. Authenticated local attackers on affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through 10 systems can crash the server or escalate to root when the X server runs with elevated privileges. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Local privilege escalation in X.Org X server and Xwayland stems from an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-26597, where CheckKeyTypes() fails to clamp non-canonical key types to XkbMaxShiftLevel, enabling stack-based buffer overflows. Authenticated local users on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 through 10 can crash the display server or, when X runs as root, escalate to root privileges. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, though the upstream commit reveals the vulnerable code path and the prior CVE-2025-26597 has known exploitation history.
Stack-based buffer overflow in X.Org X server and Xwayland's _XkbSetMapChecks() function allows local authenticated attackers to crash the server or potentially escalate privileges to root when the X server runs with elevated privileges. The flaw resides in CheckKeyTypes() writing to a fixed mapWidths[256] stack buffer at a client-controlled offset, affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions 6 through 10. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but an upstream fix has been merged into the xserver repository.
Local privilege escalation in the X.Org X server and Xwayland stems from a stack-based buffer overflow during font alias resolution, where a 256-byte server-side stack buffer is overrun by libXfont2 alias target names of up to 1023 bytes. An authenticated local attacker who can influence font alias files can crash the server or, when the X server runs as root, escalate to root privileges. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis and CVSS is 7.8 (Local/Low complexity/Low privileges).
Local privilege escalation in X.Org X server and Xwayland enables authenticated local users to trigger a use-after-free in miSyncDestroyFence() by racing two client connections against a shared fence object. Successful exploitation can crash the display server or escalate privileges to root when the X server runs as root, which remains common on legacy and embedded Linux deployments. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, but an upstream fix has been committed by the X.Org maintainers.
Privilege escalation in Google Chrome's ImageCapture component before 149.0.7827.53 allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to escape sandbox boundaries via a crafted HTML page. The flaw was reported by Google's internal security team and is rated medium-low by Chromium itself despite the 7.5 CVSS score, and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. SSVC indicates no known exploitation but total technical impact if successfully chained.
Privilege escalation in Google Chrome's WebView component on Android prior to version 149.0.7827.53 allows a remote attacker to elevate privileges by serving a crafted HTML page to a victim. The flaw requires user interaction (visiting or rendering the malicious page) and carries a CVSS 8.8 due to the high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact across the browser sandbox. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS is very low at 0.04%, but Google has shipped a fix.
Privilege escalation in Google Chrome for iOS prior to 149.0.7827.53 allows remote attackers to elevate privileges when a victim is lured into performing specific UI gestures on a crafted HTML page. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation in the Reading List feature and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8, though EPSS is low at 0.05% and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. Google rates the underlying Chromium severity as Low despite the high CVSS, suggesting realistic exploitability is constrained by the required user interaction.
Privilege escalation in Google Chrome's Cast component (versions prior to 149.0.7827.53) allows an adjacent network attacker to elevate privileges by delivering a crafted HTML page that exploits insufficient input validation. Exploitation requires the victim to interact with the malicious content, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis despite a CVSS score of 8.0. Google has classified the Chromium security severity as Low, suggesting the practical impact is more constrained than the numeric score implies.
Privilege escalation in Google Chrome prior to 149.0.7827.53 allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to escape sandbox-style restrictions via the Extensions subsystem using a crafted HTML page. The flaw requires user interaction and high attack complexity, and is rated Low severity by the Chromium team despite the 7.5 CVSS score; no public exploit identified at time of analysis.
OS-level privilege escalation in Google Chrome on Linux prior to 149.0.7827.53 allows remote attackers to escalate privileges via malicious network traffic targeting the Chromoting (Chrome Remote Desktop) component. Google has released a patched stable channel update, and while no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis, the network-based attack vector and high impact across confidentiality, integrity, and availability warrant prompt patching. EPSS probability is very low (0.03%), and the issue is not listed in CISA KEV.
Sandbox escape in Google Chrome on Android prior to 149.0.7827.53 allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to break out of the WebView sandbox via a crafted HTML page. The flaw stems from an inappropriate implementation in WebView and is chained behind a prior renderer compromise, requiring user interaction. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS sits at 0.03% (10th percentile), indicating no current evidence of widespread exploitation despite the high CVSS score of 9.6.
Privilege escalation in Google Chrome prior to 149.0.7827.53 allows a remote attacker who has already compromised the renderer process to break out of the sandbox via a crafted HTML page that abuses insufficient input validation in the Extensions component. Google rates the Chromium severity as Medium while NVD assigns CVSS 7.5 (High); no public exploit identified at time of analysis and CISA SSVC reports no observed exploitation.
Local privilege escalation in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 149.0.7827.53 stems from a use-after-free condition in the Updater component, allowing a local attacker who can place a malicious file to elevate to OS-level privileges. The flaw was reported by Google's Chrome security team with no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and EPSS scoring is very low at 0.01% reflecting minimal predicted exploitation activity. Chromium rates the severity as Medium while the CVSS base score of 7.3 reflects the high impact of OS-level privilege escalation.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- HIGH
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 14425