LocalSystem escalation via unquoted service executable path
Published May 16, 2026 · Updated May 16, 2026
Unquoted service path handling in Syncplify Server! 5.0.37 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The SMWebRestServicev5 registration stores the whitespace-containing path to SMWebRestSvc.exe without enclosing quotation marks, allowing Windows to resolve an attacker-planted executable first. The attacker needs write access to a searched path, and execution occurs when the service restarts or the system reboots.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path handling in Syncplify Server! 5.0.37 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The SMWebRestServicev5 registration stores the whitespace-containing path to SMWebRestSvc.exe without enclosing quotation marks, allowing Windows to resolve an attacker-planted executable first. The attacker needs write access to a searched path, and execution occurs when the service restarts or the system reboots.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2020-37230
- Published
- May 16, 2026
- Updated
- May 16, 2026
- Vendor
- Syncplify
- Product
- Syncplify Server!
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 16, 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=5.0.37
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
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
- Syncplify.me Server! 5.0.37 SMWebRestServicev5 Unquoted Service Pathproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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