LocalSystem escalation via unquoted hshld service path
Published Apr 4, 2026 · Updated Apr 4, 2026
Unquoted service path handling in Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The hshld service registers its executable path without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-planted executable from an earlier path segment instead of the intended service binary. Exploitation requires write access to a searched path and a service restart or system reboot; successful code runs as LocalSystem.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path handling in Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The hshld service registers its executable path without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-planted executable from an earlier path segment instead of the intended service binary. Exploitation requires write access to a searched path and a service restart or system reboot; successful code runs as LocalSystem.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2016-20060
- Published
- Apr 4, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 4, 2026
- Vendor
- Pango Group
- Product
- Hotspot Shield
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 4, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=6.0.3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalationproof of concept · validated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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