CWE-648 63 CVEs MITRE definition ↗

CWE-648: Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs

Overview

CWE-648 (Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs) documents a weakness type used across vulnerability databases and security assessments. Use the sections below for definition, context, and mapped CVEs.

Security impact
Security impact: Depends on product and context; use CVE records, severity scores, and MITRE guidance to prioritize.

Description

The product does not conform to the API requirements for a function call that requires extra privileges. This could allow attackers to gain privileges by causing the function to be called incorrectly.

Applicable platforms

Kind Name Class Prevalence OS / CPE
language Not Language-Specific Undetermined

Related CVEs in this database

These CVEs are mapped to this weakness in this database and kept for traceability and search.

CVE Published Summary
CVE-2026-9560 2026-05-26 Privilege escalation via background service of OpenVPN Connect 3.5.1 through 3.8.1 on macOS allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges via local IPC channel
CVE-2026-41225 2026-05-13 A vulnerability exists in iControl REST where a highly privileged, authenticated attacker with at least the Manager role can create configuration objects that allow running arbitrary commands.  Note:…
CVE-2026-41386 2026-04-28 OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where bootstrap setup codes are not bound to intended device roles and scopes during pairing. Attackers can exploit this during …
CVE-2026-41329 2026-04-21 OpenClaw before 2026.3.31 contains a sandbox bypass vulnerability allowing attackers to escalate privileges via heartbeat context inheritance and senderIsOwner parameter manipulation. Attackers can ex…
CVE-2026-35669 2026-04-10 OpenClaw before 2026.3.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in gateway-authenticated plugin HTTP routes that incorrectly mint operator.admin runtime scope regardless of caller-granted scop…
CVE-2026-35663 2026-04-10 OpenClaw before 2026.3.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability allowing non-admin operators to self-request broader scopes during backend reconnect. Attackers can bypass pairing requirements …
CVE-2026-35645 2026-04-09 OpenClaw before 2026.3.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the gateway plugin subagent fallback deleteSession function that uses a synthetic operator.admin runtime scope. Attackers can…
CVE-2026-35639 2026-04-09 OpenClaw before 2026.3.22 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability in the device.pair.approve method that allows an operator.pairing approver to approve pending device requests with broader opera…
CVE-2026-35625 2026-04-09 OpenClaw before 2026.3.25 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where silent local shared-auth reconnects auto-approve scope-upgrade requests, widening paired device permissions from operator.…
CVE-2026-20126 2026-02-25 A vulnerability in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an authenticated, local attacker with low privileges to gain root privileges on the underlying operating system. This vulnerability is d…
CVE-2026-20122 2026-02-25 A vulnerability in the API of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the local file system. To exploit this vulnerability, the atta…
CVE-2026-22922 2026-02-09 Apache Airflow versions 3.1.0 through 3.1.6 contain an authorization flaw that can allow an authenticated user with custom permissions limited to task access to view task logs without having task log …
CVE-2025-1161 2025-12-10 Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs vulnerability in NomySoft Information Technology Training and Consulting Inc. Nomysem allows Privilege Escalation.This issue affects Nomysem: through May 2025.
CVE-2025-63291 2025-11-14 When processing API requests, the Alteryx server 2022.1.1.42654 and 2024.1 used MongoDB object IDs to uniquely identify the data being requested by the caller. The Alteryx server did not check whether…
CVE-2024-32008 2025-11-11 A vulnerability has been identified in Spectrum Power 4 (All versions < V4.70 SP12 Update 2). The affected application is vulnerable to a local privilege escalation due to an exposed debug interface o…
CVE-2025-54769 2025-07-29 An authenticated, read-only user can upload a file and perform a directory traversal to have the uploaded file placed in a location of their choosing. This can be used to overwrite existing PERL modu…
CVE-2025-54768 2025-07-29 An API endpoint that should be limited to web application administrators is hidden from, but accessible by, lower-level read only web application users. The endpoint can be used to download logs from …
CVE-2025-54767 2025-07-29 An authenticated, read-only user can kill any processes running on the Xormon Original virtual appliance as the lpar2rrd user.
CVE-2025-54766 2025-07-29 An API endpoint that should be limited to web application administrators is hidden from, but accessible by, lower-level read only web application users. The endpoint can be used to export the applianc…
CVE-2025-54765 2025-07-29 An API endpoint that should be limited to web application administrators is hidden from, but accessible by, lower-level read only web application users. The endpoint can be used to import the applianc…

Previous names

  • Improper Use of Privileged APIs (2009-05-27)

Content submission

Name
Evgeny Lebanidze
Organization
Cigital
Date
2008-01-30
Version
Draft 8

Content modifications

Date Name Version Importance Comment
2008-09-08 CWE Content Team 1.0 updated Common_Consequences, Relationships
2008-10-14 CWE Content Team 1.0.1 updated Description, Potential_Mitigations
2009-05-27 CWE Content Team 1.4 updated Name, Related_Attack_Patterns
2009-10-29 CWE Content Team 1.6 updated Common_Consequences
2010-04-05 CWE Content Team 1.8.1 updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2010-12-13 CWE Content Team 1.11 updated Common_Consequences, Description
2011-03-29 CWE Content Team 1.12 updated Description, Potential_Mitigations
2011-06-01 CWE Content Team 1.13 updated Common_Consequences
2012-05-11 CWE Content Team 2.2 updated Relationships
2012-10-30 CWE Content Team 2.3 updated Potential_Mitigations
2014-07-30 CWE Content Team 2.8 updated Relationships
2017-11-08 CWE Content Team 3.0 updated Applicable_Platforms, Enabling_Factors_for_Exploitation, Observed_Examples, Relationships
2018-03-27 CWE Content Team 3.1 updated Observed_Examples
2023-01-31 CWE Content Team 4.10 updated Description
2023-04-27 CWE Content Team 4.11 updated Relationships
2023-06-29 CWE Content Team 4.12 updated Mapping_Notes, Relationships
2025-12-11 CWE Content Team 4.19 updated Weakness_Ordinalities
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