# privilege-escalation

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/privilege-escalation/
Last updated: 2026-08-29
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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Gaining higher access than originally granted, by exploiting misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, or over-permissioned identities. Tightly linked to privileged access risk.

Most real escalations are not exploits, they are configuration: a group that grants more than anyone realized, a role that can modify its own policy, a certificate template with dangerous permissions, or a service account with domain rights. That is why attack-path analysis across the identity graph finds more than vulnerability scanning does, and why the fix is usually a permission change rather than a patch.

See also: [lateral movement](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/lateral-movement/), [least privilege](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/least-privilege/), [what is PAM](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-pam/), [identity CVE catalog](https://startwithidentity.com/cves/)