CWE-268: Privilege Chaining

What is CWE-268?

CWE-268 is Privilege Chaining. The flaw arises when two distinct privileges, roles, capabilities, or rights can be combined in a way that allows an entity to perform unsafe actions that would not be allowed without that combination. The database currently holds 2 vulnerabilities mapped to CWE-268 and none of them are in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

OWASP Top 10 Rank-
Related CVES (365 days)2
AbstractionBase
Likelihood of exploitHigh

Vulnerabilities mapped to CWE-268

2 vulnerabilities75% decrease year over year

No data

No vulnerability data in CISA KEV for CWE-268

Official definition

ByMitre CWE

Two distinct privileges, roles, capabilities, or rights can be combined in a way that allows an entity to perform unsafe actions that would not be allowed without that combination.

Characteristics

Modes of introduction

  • Architecture and Design
  • Implementation: REALIZATION: This weakness is caused during implementation of an architectural security tactic.
  • Operation

Common consequences

ImpactScopeExplanation
Gain Privileges or Assume IdentityAccess ControlA user can be given or gain access rights of another user. This can give the user unauthorized access to sensitive information including the access information of another user.

Risk mitigations

  1. Separation of Privilege · Architecture and DesignConsider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.
  2. Architecture and Design, OperationVery carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
  3. Environment Hardening · Architecture and Design, OperationRun your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks [REF-76]. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.

Representative vulnerabilities

Below are representative vulnerabilities related to this CWE, prioritized by severity.

Sources (2)
MITRE CWE
CWE Terms of Use

Supporting documents

CWE™ Program, operated by The MITRE Corporation. Copyright © 2006–2026, The MITRE Corporation. The MITRE Corporation hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use CWE for research, development, and commercial purposes. CWE Terms of Use.

Learn more

Run an in-depth assessment with complete web risk management

CyStack VulnScan continuously discovers assets, validates vulnerabilities, and helps security teams prioritize remediation across the organization.

Explore CyStack VulnScan
More resources & insights

Explore more resources from CyStack

Website security reports

Review CyStack's security rating and practical recommendations for websites and edge assets.

Learn more

CyStack research

Explore cybersecurity research from our team of security specialists.

Learn more

Cybersecurity knowledge

Browse practical cybersecurity knowledge across CyStack's articles and guides.

Learn more