LocalSystem code execution via unquoted service path
Published Jun 19, 2026 · Updated Jun 19, 2026
Privilege escalation in Wondershare PDFelement 5.2.9 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem through a Windows service path. WsAppService registers an executable path containing spaces without surrounding quotes, so Windows can select an attacker-planted executable from an earlier path segment. A low-privileged local user needs write access to such a segment, and execution occurs when the service restarts or the system reboots.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Wondershare PDFelement 5.2.9 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem through a Windows service path. WsAppService registers an executable path containing spaces without surrounding quotes, so Windows can select an attacker-planted executable from an earlier path segment. A low-privileged local user needs write access to such a segment, and execution occurs when the service restarts or the system reboots.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2020-37254
- Published
- Jun 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 19, 2026
- Vendor
- Wondershare
- Product
- PDFelement
- 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
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=5.2.9
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
- Exploit-DB 40535 PDFelement unquoted service path exploitproof of concept · unverified
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