Privilege escalation in SQL Server isn’t just theory – it can happen through everyday maintenance jobs. This article demonstrates how a user with roles like db_owner or db_ddladmin can exploit replication cleanup processes to gain sysadmin rights, and why monitoring trigger creation and job behavior is critical for security.
What is Privilege Escalation in SQL Server?
Privilege escalation is the process by which an attacker obtains higher access rights than originally granted. In practical terms, it means a low-privileged account or process finds a way to perform actions that should only be allowed to administrators.
Because privileges determine what