administrative privilege

A class of access rights — elevated above those granted to standard users — that collectively authorize an account or identity to perform security-sensitive operations that affect the configuration, integrity, or management of a system or network. What distinguishes it from ordinary user permissions is the authority to modify or override other accounts' rights and to perform security-relevant functions — such as key management, account management, network and system administration, and database administration — that ordinary users are not authorized to perform. In practice, the field uses the term to identify a condition that triggers heightened governance: users or accounts requiring administrative privileges on system accounts receive additional scrutiny from organizational personnel — such as the system owner, mission/business owner, or chief information security officer — responsible for approving such accounts and privileged access. Control frameworks invoke it primarily to enforce least-privilege goals: limiting how many accounts carry such privileges reduces the probability of a threat actor abusing them to cause harm.