Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path
Published Jan 15, 2026 · Updated Jan 15, 2026
Unquoted service path handling in Grass Software Studio Macro Expert 4.7 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem. The Macro Expert Windows service registers C:\program files (x86)\grasssoft\macro expert\MacroService.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can resolve an attacker-planted executable from an earlier path segment. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, permission to place that executable in a searched parent directory, and a service start or system reboot.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path handling in Grass Software Studio Macro Expert 4.7 allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem. The Macro Expert Windows service registers C:\program files (x86)\grasssoft\macro expert\MacroService.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can resolve an attacker-planted executable from an earlier path segment. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, permission to place that executable in a searched parent directory, and a service start or system reboot.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47780
- Published
- Jan 15, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 15, 2026
- Vendor
- Grass Software Studio
- Product
- Macro Expert
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 15, 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=4.7
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
- Macro Expert 4.7 - Unquoted Service Pathproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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