LocalSystem code execution via unquoted service path
Published Apr 4, 2026 · Updated Apr 4, 2026
Privilege escalation in SheedSoft Sheed Antivirus 2.3 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem through the ShavProt service path. ShavProt registers C:\Program Files\Sheed AntiVirus\shgrprot.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can resolve an attacker-placed executable earlier in the spaced path when the service starts. A local user must be able to place that executable and trigger a service restart or system reboot; successful execution grants LocalSystem control.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in SheedSoft Sheed Antivirus 2.3 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem through the ShavProt service path. ShavProt registers C:\Program Files\Sheed AntiVirus\shgrprot.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can resolve an attacker-placed executable earlier in the spaced path when the service starts. A local user must be able to place that executable and trigger a service restart or system reboot; successful execution grants LocalSystem control.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2016-20061
- Published
- Apr 4, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 4, 2026
- Vendor
- SheedSoft
- Product
- Sheed Antivirus
- 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=2.3
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
- Sheed AntiVirus 2.3 Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalationfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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