Back to Glossary
What is Privilege Escalation?
Definition
An attack where a user gains higher access rights than they are authorized for, either vertically (user → admin) or horizontally (user A → user B's data).
Security Impact
Complete system takeover (vertical) or mass data breach affecting all users (horizontal). Often the second step after initial compromise.
How to Remediate
Enforce the principle of least privilege, validate roles in middleware on every request, use RBAC/ABAC, and audit all admin endpoints.
Want to automatically detect and block Privilege Escalation vulnerabilities in your CI/CD pipeline?
Start scanning with Bryxe