Engineering English
Privilege Escalation
Software Engineering · Last updated: July 30, 2026 · How this entry was written
Definition: Privilege escalation is an attack where a user gains elevated access to resources beyond what is authorized, either vertically (gaining higher-level permissions) or horizontally (accessing other users' data). It often exploits software bugs or misconfigurations.
Example in context
“The penetration test successfully demonstrated privilege escalation by exploiting a misconfigured sudoers file on the Linux server.”
“Sızma testi, Linux sunucusundaki yanlış yapılandırılmış bir sudoers dosyasından yararlanarak ayrıcalık yükseltmeyi başarıyla gösterdi.”
Where engineers use it
Privilege escalation attacks are a major concern in multi-user systems. Engineers should apply the principle of least privilege, regularly patch systems, and perform thorough input validation to prevent exploitation.
Synonyms: elevation of privilege, privilege elevation
Practice: can you use “Privilege Escalation” at work?
After a routine update, a low-privileged user discovers they can execute commands as root on a server. What type of attack is this, and what immediate actions should be taken?
Show a model answer
“How can we detect and prevent privilege escalation within our application?”
“Privilege Escalation” in 21 languages
| English | Privilege Escalation |
|---|---|
| Turkish | Ayrıcalık Yükseltme |
| French | Escalade de Privilèges |
| German | Privilegienerweiterung |
| Spanish | Escalada de Privilegios |
| Chinese | 权限提升 |
| Arabic | تصعيد الامتيازات |
| Portuguese | Escalonamento de Privilégio |
| Russian | Повышение привилегий |
| Japanese | 権限昇格 |
| Italian | Escalation dei Privilegi |
| Vietnamese | Leo thang Đặc quyền |
| Hindi | विशेषाधिकार वृद्धि |
| Thai | การยกระดับสิทธิ์ |
| Indonesian | Eskalasi Hak Istimewa |
| Korean | 권한 상승 |
| Bengali | বিশেষাধিকার বৃদ্ধি |
| Dutch | Privilege-escalatie |
| Swedish | Privilegieeskalering |
| Finnish | Oikeuksien Korotus |
| Ukrainian | Підвищення привілеїв |
Frequently asked questions
What does Privilege Escalation mean in engineering?
Privilege escalation is an attack where a user gains elevated access to resources beyond what is authorized, either vertically (gaining higher-level permissions) or horizontally (accessing other users' data). It often exploits software bugs or misconfigurations. In Software Engineering, the term carries a usage-frequency rating of 10/10 in the Engineering English library.
How do you pronounce Privilege Escalation?
Privilege Escalation is pronounced /ˈprɪvɪlɪdʒ ˌeskəˈleɪʃən/ (IPA). The Engineering English app plays audio for the term and checks your pronunciation with speech recognition.
How is Privilege Escalation used in a sentence?
Example from an engineering context: “The penetration test successfully demonstrated privilege escalation by exploiting a misconfigured sudoers file on the Linux server.”
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