CWE-271: Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors
The product does not drop privileges before passing control of a resource to an actor that does not have those privileges.
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Overview
In some contexts, a system executing with elevated permissions will hand off a process/file/etc. to another process or user. If the privileges of an entity are not reduced, then elevated privileges are spread throughout a system and possibly to an attacker.
Real-world CVEs
10 recorded CVEs are caused by CWE-271 (Privilege Dropping / Lowering Errors). The highest-severity and most recent are shown first. 2 new CWE-271 CVEs have been recorded so far in 2026 (2 in 2025).
- CVE-2023-22648
Rancher's Azure AD permission changes are not reflected on active sessions
High · CVSS 8.8 · EPSS 38th2023-06-01 - CVE-2019-11243
Kubernetes did not effectively clear service account credentials
High · CVSS 8.1 · EPSS 74th2019-04-22 - CVE-2024-0985
PostgreSQL non-owner REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW CONCURRENTLY executes arbitrary SQL
High · CVSS 8.0 · EPSS 78th