The operating system must prevent all software from executing at higher privilege levels than users executing the software.

In certain situations, software applications/programs need to execute with elevated privileges to perform required functions. However, if the privileges required for execution are at a higher level than the privileges assigned to organizational users invoking such applications/programs, those users are indirectly provided with greater privileges than assigned by the organizations. Some programs and processes are required to operate at a higher privilege level and therefore should be excluded from the organization-defined software list after review.