CVE-2020-37232Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path

Published May 16, 2026 · Updated May 16, 2026

Privilege escalation in IObit Advanced SystemCare 13.0.0.157 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem during service startup. The AdvancedSystemCareService13 ImagePath leaves C:\Program Files (x86)\Advanced SystemCare Pro\ASCService.exe unquoted, so Windows can select an earlier space-delimited executable. Exploitation requires write access to the system root and a service start or system reboot, after which the substituted executable runs with LocalSystem privileges.

CVSS severity8.5
High
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in IObit Advanced SystemCare 13.0.0.157 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem during service startup. The AdvancedSystemCareService13 ImagePath leaves C:\Program Files (x86)\Advanced SystemCare Pro\ASCService.exe unquoted, so Windows can select an earlier space-delimited executable. Exploitation requires write access to the system root and a service start or system reboot, after which the substituted executable runs with LocalSystem privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-37232
Published
May 16, 2026
Updated
May 16, 2026
Vendor
IObit
Product
Advanced SystemCare
Classifications
CWE-428, T1574.009
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=13.0.0.157

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

IObit · Advanced SystemCareversion=13.0.0.157

Published CVSS scores

8.5VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
7.8VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-428Unquoted Search Path or Element
T1574.009Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by Unquoted Path

Public exploit references

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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