Privilege escalation

Privilege escalation is a security vulnerability and attack vector in computing which exploits a weakness in an authentication mechanism dealing with access control in order to gain higher-level privileges. In other words, a malicious user with access to an account on a computer system or network can exploit this vulnerability to gain additional privileges which they are not ordinarily entitled to, such as administrator access.

The main types of privilege escalation attacks are horizontal and vertical privilege escalation. In horizontal privilege escalation, a user with restricted access to a system is able to modify the system in some way to gain access to resources they wouldn’t normally have access to, such as confidential documents. Vertical privilege escalation occurs when a user with a low level of access is able to gain higher privileges, such as the ability to delete, add, or modify files.

Common vectors for privilege escalation attacks include exploiting software vulnerabilities, social engineering, and exploiting configuration weaknesses. Exploiting software vulnerabilities typically involves exploiting coding missteps which a programmer has made while writing the code for an application, allowing malicious users to get around authentication measures. Social engineering involves convincing a user to give up their credentials, or otherwise manipulate them into granting the attacker greater privileges. And exploiting configuration weaknesses involves taking advantage of settings which are set too broadly or incorrectly configured by the system administrator.

Privilege escalation is considered to be a major security threat and organizations and individuals should take appropriate steps to protect their systems and networks from such attacks. Common security measures to protect against privilege escalation attacks include auditing of system and network configurations, proper user access control, regularly updating software, and strong authentication mechanisms. Incorporating these security measures will significantly reduce the risk of a successful privilege escalation attack.