Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path
Published Jan 27, 2026 · Updated Jan 27, 2026
Unquoted service path in Acer Global Registration Service 1.0.0.3 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The GREGService configuration registers C:\Program Files (x86)\Acer\Registration\GREGsvc.exe without quotes, so Windows can resolve an attacker-placed executable earlier in the parsed path. Exploitation requires local write access to a searched parent path and service startup or reboot; successful code runs as LocalSystem.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path in Acer Global Registration Service 1.0.0.3 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The GREGService configuration registers C:\Program Files (x86)\Acer\Registration\GREGsvc.exe without quotes, so Windows can resolve an attacker-placed executable earlier in the parsed path. Exploitation requires local write access to a searched parent path and service startup or reboot; successful code runs as LocalSystem.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2020-36976
- Published
- Jan 27, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Acer Inc.
- Product
- Acer Global Registration Service
- 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
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=1.0.0.3
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
- Global Registration Service 1.0.0.3 - GREGsvc.exe Unquoted Service Pathproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo