Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path
Published Jan 15, 2026 · Updated Jan 15, 2026
Privilege escalation in PY Software Active WebCam 11.5 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as LocalSystem through its Windows service. The ACTIVEWEBCAM service registers C:\Program Files\Active WebCam\WebCam.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-placed executable from a parent path. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access, a writable interception location, and the non-default Start on Windows Startup and Start as Service options.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in PY Software Active WebCam 11.5 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as LocalSystem through its Windows service. The ACTIVEWEBCAM service registers C:\Program Files\Active WebCam\WebCam.exe without quotation marks, so Windows can select an attacker-placed executable from a parent path. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access, a writable interception location, and the non-default Start on Windows Startup and Start as Service options.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47790
- Published
- Jan 15, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 15, 2026
- Vendor
- PY Software
- Product
- Active WebCam
- 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=11.5
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
- Active WebCam 11.5 Unquoted Service Path Proof of Conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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