Can a malicious action be legitimate?

On the basis of this definition for malice:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malice

1: desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another 2: intent to commit an unlawful act or cause harm without legal justification or excuse

I fail to see how a malicious action could ever be legitimate. I see all malice as fundamentally unjustifiable. Note that malice is very different from taking necessary actions with justification which may in turn cause others harm (ex. defending yourself may cause harm but is out of necessity of self-preservation, its justified by something other than a desire to cause suffering)

[ACTION ITEM]

define and reference malice
add and reference reasoning as to why malice is non-legitimate (as per this discussion)

ipsdm / legitimacy

Can a malicious action be legitimate? #6