Privilege Escalation
Privilege escalation is a technique by which an attacker with limited access gains a higher level of authorization. Vertical escalation means reaching administrator or root level, while horizontal escalation means accessing another user's resources at the same privilege level.
Term
description · examples · notesPrivilege escalation is a technique by which an attacker with limited access gains a higher level of authorization. Vertical escalation means reaching administrator or root level, while horizontal escalation means accessing another user's resources at the same privilege level.
Description
Attackers exploit kernel vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, services running with excessive privileges, or weaknesses in access control mechanisms.
Examples
- Exploiting a kernel vulnerability to gain root access
- Abusing misconfigured permissions on autostart scripts
- Leveraging a service running with system privileges to execute commands
Notes
- The principle of least privilege and regular system patching are the foundation of prevention.
Threats
used by 11Defenses
countered by 8How it is countered. Select one to open its page.