SYSTEM code execution via unquoted updater path
Published Jun 19, 2026 · Updated Jun 19, 2026
Privilege escalation in Comodo Dragon Browser 52.15.25.663 and earlier allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM on Windows. The DragonUpdater service registers its executable path without quotation marks despite embedded spaces, so Windows can select an attacker-planted executable before the intended updater. A low-privileged local account must place a matching executable in a searched path; service restart or system reboot then runs it as LocalSystem.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Comodo Dragon Browser 52.15.25.663 and earlier allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM on Windows. The DragonUpdater service registers its executable path without quotation marks despite embedded spaces, so Windows can select an attacker-planted executable before the intended updater. A low-privileged local account must place a matching executable in a searched path; service restart or system reboot then runs it as LocalSystem.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2016-20090
- Published
- Jun 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 19, 2026
- Vendor
- Comodo Group, Inc.
- Product
- Comodo Dragon Browser
- 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <=52.15.25.663
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
- Comodo Dragon Browser - Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalationproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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