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Everything about Privilege escalation
Excessive access to computer resources
Privilege escalation is the act of exploiting a bug, a design flaw, or a configuration oversight in an operating system or software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user. The result is that an application or user with more privileges than intended by the application developer or system administrator can perform unauthorized actions. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: Privilege escalationA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Exploiting Misconfiguration Vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory for Privilege Escalation AttacksInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: The web application hacker's handbookThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Privilege Escalation Attack Detection and Mitigation in Cloud Using Machine LearningCited 69 times
- Go sideways: Dirty COWA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Exploit (computer security)A closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun The use of an exploit to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Privilege Escalation Attack Detection and Mitigation in Cloud Using Machine Learning
An adaptive and configurable protection framework against android privilege escalation threats
Fabrication Attacks: Zero-Overhead Malicious Modifications Enabling Modern Microprocessor Privilege Escalation
An adaptive framework against android privilege escalation threats using deep learning and semi-supervised approaches
Air‐Gapped Networks: Exfiltration without Privilege Escalation for Military and Police Units
PrivGuard: Protecting Sensitive Kernel Data From Privilege Escalation Attacks
A taxonomy of privilege escalation attacks in Android applications
LLMs as Hackers: Autonomous Linux Privilege Escalation Attacks
🆕 Influential since 2022
Exploiting Misconfiguration Vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory for Privilege Escalation Attacks
Eurowhiteness in Science: Privilege Escalation and Intentional Sludge
An Empirical Investigation of Docker Sockets for Privilege Escalation and Defensive Strategies
Mitigation of privilege escalation attack using kernel data relocation mechanism
A Model-Driven-Reverse Engineering Approach for Detecting Privilege Escalation in IoT Systems.
📚 Books worth reading
The web application hacker's handbookDafydd Stuttard, Marcus Pinto · 2007
The Conspirators HierarchyJohn Coleman · 1992
Housing, markets and policyPeter Malpass, Robert Rowlands · 2009
The basics of information securityJason Andress · 2011
Black Hat PythonJustin Seitz, Tim Arnold · 2014
Professional penetration testingThomas Wilhelm · 2010
Privilege Escalation TechniquesAlexis Ahmed · 2021
Keys to the KingdomDeviant Ollam · 2012
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
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