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 (14612)
An issue was discovered in GNU Hurd before 0.9 20210404-9. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in GNU Hurd before 0.9 20210404-9. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Improper privilege management vulnerability in API Key used in SmartThings prior to 1.7.73.22 allows an attacker to abuse the API key without limitation. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability of storing sensitive information insecurely in Property Settings prior to SMR Nov-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to read ESN value without priviledge. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Nessus versions 8.15.2 and earlier were found to contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability which could allow an authenticated, local administrator to run specific executables on the Nessus. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A improper privilege management in Fortinet FortiSIEM Windows Agent version 4.1.4 and below allows attacker to execute privileged code or commands via powershell scripts. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper authorization vulnerability [CWE-285] in FortiClient for Windows versions 7.0.1 and below and 6.4.2 and below may allow a local unprivileged attacker to escalate their privileges to. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache DolphinScheduler before 1.3.6 versions, authorized users can use SQL injection in the data source center. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The AutomatorWP WordPress plugin before 1.7.6 does not perform capability checks which allows users with Subscriber roles to enumerate automations, disclose title of private posts or user emails,. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
NVIDIA vGPU software contains a vulnerability in the Virtual GPU Manager (vGPU plugin), where there is the potential to execute privileged operations by the guest OS, which may lead to information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect Default Permissions vulnerability in the bdservicehost.exe and Vulnerability.Scan.exe components as used in Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools for Windows, Total Security allows a local. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Execution with Unnecessary Privileges vulnerability in Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools, Total Security allows a local attacker to elevate to 'NT AUTHORITY\System. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is a vulnerability of tampering with the kernel in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may escalate permissions. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is a Kernel crash vulnerability in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may escalate permissions. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is a vulnerability of tampering with the kernel in Huawei Smartphone.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may escalate permissions. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), 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.Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may affect service confidentiality. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Hub in CFEngine Enterprise 3.6.7 through 3.18.0 has Insecure Permissions that allow local Information Disclosure. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows trial installer of McAfee Total Protection (MTP) prior to 16.0.34_x may allow a local user to run arbitrary code as the admin user by replacing a. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Insecure Permissions issue exists in Gestionale Open 11.00.00. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In Eclipse Openj9 before version 0.29.0, the JVM does not throw IllegalAccessError for MethodHandles that invoke inaccessible interface methods. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The Responsive WordPress Slider WordPress plugin through 2.2.0 does not sanitise and escape some of the Slider options, allowing Cross-Site Scripting payloads to be set in them. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In bpf_skb_change_head of filter.c, there is a possible out of bounds read due to a use after free. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In TBD of TBD, there is a possible out of bounds write due to improper locking. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In acc_read of f_accessory.c, there is a possible memory corruption due to a use after free. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ip6_xmit of ip6_output.c, there is a possible out of bounds write due to a use after free. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In audio DSP, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In audio DSP, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In audio DSP, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In display driver, there is a possible memory corruption due to uninitialized data. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In display driver, there is a possible out of bounds write due to an incorrect bounds check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ccu, there is a possible memory corruption due to improper locking. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
As a result of an unquoted service path vulnerability present in the Kiwi Syslog Server Installation Wizard, a local attacker could gain escalated privileges by inserting an executable into the path. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In runDumpHeap of ActivityManagerShellCommand.java, there is a possible deletion of system files due to a confused deputy. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In sanitizeSbn of NotificationManagerService.java, there is a possible way to keep service running in foreground and keep granted permissions due to Bypass of Background Service Restrictions. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In SecondStageMain of init.cpp, there is a possible use after free due to incorrect shared_ptr usage. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
In VectorDrawable::VectorDrawable of VectorDrawable.java, there is a possible way to introduce a memory corruption due to sharing of not thread-safe objects. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In multiple methods of AAudioService, there is a possible use-after-free due to a race condition. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Unnecessary privilege vulnerabilities in the Web Console of Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service and Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges. 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.
Unnecessary privilege vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service, Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 and Worry-Free Business Security Services could allow a local attacker to. 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.
Unnecessary privilege vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service, Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 and Worry-Free Business Security Services could allow a local attacker to. 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.
Unnecessary privilege vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service, Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 and Worry-Free Business Security Services could allow a local attacker to. 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.
Unnecessary privilege vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One, Apex One as a Service, Worry-Free Business Security 10.0 SP1 and Worry-Free Business Security Services could allow a local attacker to. 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.
An uncontrolled search path element vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An uncontrolled search path element vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service agents could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An uncontrolled search path element vulnerabilities in Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service could allow a local attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
An incorrect permission assignment vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service could allow a local attacker to load a DLL with escalated privileges on affected installations. 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.
GNU Mailman before 2.1.35 may allow remote Privilege Escalation. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability could allow attackers to trick authenticated users into performing unintended actions.
GNU Mailman before 2.1.35 may allow remote Privilege Escalation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), 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 J-Web attacker to escalate their privileges to root over the target device. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows a local, low-privileged user to cause the Juniper DHCP daemon (jdhcpd) process to crash, resulting. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the gRPC framework, used by the Juniper Extension Toolkit (JET) API on Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved, allows a network-based,. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
ASUSTek ZenBook Pro Due 15 UX582 laptop firmware through 203 has Insecure Permissions that allow attacks by a physically proximate attacker. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An incomplete permission check on entries in Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager before 2021.2.16 allows attackers to bypass permissions via batch custom PowerShell. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0 is vulnerable to priviledge escalation where a lower evel user could have access to the 'New Job' page to which they should not have access to. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
A local escalation of privilege vulnerability was discovered in Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager version(s): ClearPass Policy Manager 6.10.x prior to 6.10.2 - - ClearPass Policy Manager 6.9.x prior to. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache CouchDB, a malicious user with permission to create documents in a database is able to attach a HTML attachment to a document. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
AnyDesk before 6.2.6 and 6.3.x before 6.3.3 allows a local user to obtain administrator privileges by using the Open Chat Log feature to launch a privileged Notepad process that can launch other. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Microsoft Exchange Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows AppX Deployment 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.
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.
Microsoft DWM Core Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7). 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 Desktop Bridge 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.
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.
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.
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 Event Tracing 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.
DirectX Graphics 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 Common Log File System 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.
Windows Common Log File System 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.
Windows Nearby Sharing Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.
Windows Common Log File System 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.
Hitachi JP1/IT Desktop Management 2 Agent 9 through 12 calls the SendMessageTimeoutW API with arbitrary arguments via a local pipe, leading to a local privilege escalation vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue has been discovered in GitLab affecting all versions starting from 13.0 before 14.0.9, all versions starting from 14.1 before 14.1.4, all versions starting from 14.2 before 14.2.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Under certain configurations an unauthenticated remote user could be given access to credentials stored in the exacqVision Server. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In onCreate of BluetoothPairingDialog, there is a possible way to enable Bluetooth without user consent due to a tapjacking/overlay attack. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insecure permission of chmod command on rConfig server 3.9.6 exists. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The WP HTML Author Bio WordPress plugin through 1.2.0 does not sanitise the HTML allowed in the Bio of users, allowing them to use malicious JavaScript code, which will be executed when anyone visit. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise 1.8.x through 1.8.4 may have an unexpected interaction between glob-related policies and the Google Cloud secrets engine. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in Google Updater in Google Chrome on Windows prior to 94.0.4606.54 allowed a remote attacker to perform local privilege escalation via a crafted file. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
VITEC Exterity IPTV products through 2021-04-30 allow privilege escalation to root. 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.
Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
A vulnerability in the web UI of Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to elevate privileges and create, read, update, or delete records and. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SQL injection vulnerabilities in CMFA framework prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allow untrusted application to overwrite some CMFA framework information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper access control vulnerability in BluetoothSettingsProvider prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows untrusted application to overwrite some Bluetooth information. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Assuming system privilege is gained, possible buffer overflow vulnerabilities in the Vision DSP kernel driver prior to SMR Oct-2021 Release 1 allows privilege escalation to Root by hijacking loaded. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An insecure modification flaw in the /etc/passwd file was found in the openjdk-1.8 and openjdk-11 containers. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In sendBroadcastToInstaller of FirstScreenBroadcast.java, there is a possible activity launch due to an unsafe PendingIntent. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Incorrect Permission Assignment vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources due to misconfigured permissions.
In the SELinux policy configured in system_app.te, there is a possible way for system_app to gain code execution in other processes due to an overly-permissive SELinux policy. 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.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- HIGH
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 14612