Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path
Published Jan 27, 2026 · Updated Jan 27, 2026
Unquoted service path in EPSON Status Monitor 3 8.0 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges during service startup. The EPSON_PM_RPCV4_06 service registers C:\Program Files\Common Files\EPSON\EPW!3SSRP\E_S60RPB.EXE without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-placed executable at an earlier space-delimited path. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and permission to create a candidate executable, after which an automatic service start runs it as LocalSystem.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path in EPSON Status Monitor 3 8.0 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges during service startup. The EPSON_PM_RPCV4_06 service registers C:\Program Files\Common Files\EPSON\EPW!3SSRP\E_S60RPB.EXE without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-placed executable at an earlier space-delimited path. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and permission to create a candidate executable, after which an automatic service start runs it as LocalSystem.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2020-36975
- Published
- Jan 27, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Seiko Epson Corporation
- Product
- EPSON Status Monitor 3
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 27, 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=EPSON_PM_RPCV4_06 8.0
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
- EPSON Status Monitor 3 EPSON_PM_RPCV4_06 Unquoted Service Pathproof of concept · demonstrated
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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