Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path
Published Jun 19, 2026 · Updated Jun 19, 2026
Unquoted service path handling in Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem. RtkAudioService registers C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\RtkAudioService64.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-planted C:\Program.exe first. A local low-privileged user must write the interception file and trigger a service restart or system reboot; successful exploitation grants LocalSystem privileges.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path handling in Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem. RtkAudioService registers C:\Program Files\Realtek\Audio\HDA\RtkAudioService64.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-planted C:\Program.exe first. A local low-privileged user must write the interception file and trigger a service restart or system reboot; successful exploitation grants LocalSystem privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2016-20085
- Published
- Jun 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 19, 2026
- Vendor
- Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
- Product
- Realtek High Definition Audio Driver
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 19, 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=6.0.1.6730
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
- Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 - Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalationfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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