Handle Policy Exceptions Without Granting Admin Rights
Not every application can be pre-approved through privilege elevation policies. Users occasionally need administrative access for new software, uncommon utilities, updates, scripts, or business-critical tasks that fall outside existing least privilege rules.
Securden Endpoint Privilege Manager enables organizations to securely handle these exceptions through a controlled on-demand privilege elevation workflow. Instead of granting permanent local administrator rights, users can request elevation for specific applications whenever required. Administrators or designated approvers can review the request, verify legitimacy, and approve or deny access instantly.
This ensures operational continuity for end users while maintaining strict control over privileged access across endpoints.
Replace Standing Admin Rights with Controlled Elevation Requests
Traditional approaches to handling privilege exceptions often force IT teams into risky compromises:
- Granting users permanent local admin rights
- Sharing administrator credentials
- Temporarily disabling security controls
- Technicians logging into user machines using admin accounts to perform installations
These practices create significant security exposure and increase the attack surface across the organization.
Securden eliminates these risks by introducing a secure approval-based on-demand privilege elevation workflow. Users receive administrative privileges only for the specific application requested and only after approval.
How On-Demand Privilege Elevation Works in Securden EPM?
1. User Attempts to Run an Unapproved Application
When a user launches an application that requires elevated privileges but is not covered by an existing privilege policy, Securden automatically blocks unauthorized elevation.
Instead of displaying a generic access denied message, the user is prompted to raise an elevation request directly from the endpoint.
2. User Submits an Elevation Request
The user can submit a request containing:
- Application details like file names, etc.
- The start and end time of elevated access
- Reason for elevation and business justification
- Additional comments if required
This creates a structured approval workflow for handling privilege exceptions.
3. Request Is Routed to the Right Approver
Organizations can configure flexible approval hierarchies based on operational requirements.
Securden allows administrators to:
- Assign approvers for individual users
- Configure approvers for user groups
- Delegate approval responsibilities to department heads or IT teams
- Configure automatic approvals for requests raised by specific teams
This eliminates dependency on a centralized IT bottleneck and enables faster approvals.
4. Approver Reviews and Takes Action
The designated approver receives the request with complete contextual information and can:
- Approve the elevation request
- Reject unauthorized requests
- Review application details before granting access
- Enforce security oversight for privilege exceptions
The approval process ensures that administrative access is granted only when genuinely required.
5. User Runs the Application with Elevated Privileges
Once approved, the user can launch the requested application with administrator privileges without becoming local administrators on their endpoints.
This complies with the principle of least privilege while ensuring uninterrupted productivity.
Key Capabilities
Approval-Based Privilege Elevation
Enforce administrator approval before allowing privilege elevation for unknown or unmanaged applications.
Granular Delegation of Approvers
Assign approvers for individual users and user groups by:
- Designating a specific user or user group to handle requests
- Replicate the user-manager hierarchy from your Active Directory domain to assign managers as designated approvers for requests raised by corresponding users.
Eliminate Local Admin Rights
Prevent users from operating with standing administrator privileges while still enabling legitimate administrative tasks.
Faster Exception Handling
Allow business-critical applications to be elevated quickly without waiting for policy modifications or IT intervention.
Centralized Visibility and Audit Trails
Track all privilege elevation requests, approvals, rejections, and user activities from a centralized console for auditing and compliance.
Policy-Based and Approval-Based Control Together
Combine automated privilege policies with approval workflows to create a flexible least privilege enforcement model.
Benefits of On-Demand Privilege Elevation
Strengthen Endpoint Security
Reduce the attack surface created by permanent administrative privileges.
Improve Operational Efficiency
Allow users to continue their work without delays caused by manual IT support processes.
Prevent Unauthorized Software Execution
Ensure all privilege elevation requests are reviewed and approved before administrative access is granted.
Support Zero Trust and Least Privilege Initiatives
Grant elevated privileges only when necessary, only for approved applications, and only for authorized users.
Reduce IT Workload
Delegate approvals to business units or designated approvers instead of routing every request through central IT teams.
Ideal Use Cases
Securden’s on-demand privilege elevation is ideal for:
- Software installations requiring admin rights
- Developer tools and utilities
- Temporary administrative tasks
- Business applications outside predefined policies
- Controlled execution of legacy applications
- Managing policy exceptions in least privilege environments
Secure Privilege Elevation Without Productivity Disruptions
Securden Endpoint Privilege Manager enables organizations to enforce least privilege without slowing down end users. By combining policy-based privilege management with approval-driven exception handling, organizations can eliminate standing admin rights while still supporting real-world operational needs.
With secure on-demand privilege elevation, users get the access they need — only when they need it, and only after approval.
