LocalSystem escalation via unquoted watchdog service path
Published May 10, 2026 · Updated May 10, 2026
Unquoted service path handling in Argus Surveillance DVR 4.0 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The DVRWatchdog service passes its space-containing executable path to Windows without quotation marks, allowing resolution of an attacker-controlled executable before the intended binary. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, write access to a searched parent path, and the non-default Start as service on Windows Startup option; execution occurs when the LocalSystem service starts.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path handling in Argus Surveillance DVR 4.0 allows local users to execute code with LocalSystem privileges. The DVRWatchdog service passes its space-containing executable path to Windows without quotation marks, allowing resolution of an attacker-controlled executable before the intended binary. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, write access to a searched parent path, and the non-default Start as service on Windows Startup option; execution occurs when the LocalSystem service starts.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-47945
- Published
- May 10, 2026
- Updated
- May 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Argus Surveillance Inc.
- Product
- Argus Surveillance DVR
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 10, 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=Argus Surveillance DVR 4.0
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
- Argus Surveillance DVR 4.0 - Unquoted Service Pathproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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