Escalation of privileges
Most modern systems are protected with multiple layers of security, including the ability to set user accounts with more restricted access to the underlying system’s configurations and settings. This prevents these users — or anyone with improper access to one of these user accounts — from tampering with the core underlying system. However, an “escalation of privileges” event can involve exploiting a bug or tricking the system into granting the user more access rights than they should have.
Malware can also take advantage of bugs or flaws caused by escalation of privileges by gaining deeper access to a device or a connected network, potentially allowing the malware to spread.