Privilege Escalation occurs when an attacker gains elevated access to resources that are normally protected, beyond what they are originally authorised for. This can happen due to flaws in the application's authorisation (authorization), allowing users to perform actions or access data they shouldn't.

Remediation

• Enforce Least Privilege: Ensure users have the minimum access necessary to perform their tasks.
• Implement Robust Access Controls: Use role-based access control (RBAC) and ensure all endpoints enforce these controls consistently.
• Verify User Permissions: Check server-side permissions for every request to confirm the user has appropriate rights.

Metadata

• Severity: high
• Slug: privilege-escalation

CWEs

• 639: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key
• 266: Incorrect Privilege Assignment

OWASP

• A01:2021: Broken Access Control
• A04:2021: Insecure Design
• A07:2021: Identification and Authentication Failures