Local privilege escalation via unquoted WireGuard service path
Published Jan 13, 2026 · Updated Jan 13, 2026
Unquoted service path in Proton VPN 1.26.0 for Windows allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem when its WireGuard service starts. The ProtonVPN Wireguard service registers an unquoted executable path containing spaces, causing Windows to search earlier path components for an executable. Exploitation requires write access to an earlier path candidate; a subsequent service start executes the planted file with LocalSystem privileges.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted service path in Proton VPN 1.26.0 for Windows allows local users to execute code as LocalSystem when its WireGuard service starts. The ProtonVPN Wireguard service registers an unquoted executable path containing spaces, causing Windows to search earlier path components for an executable. Exploitation requires write access to an earlier path candidate; a subsequent service start executes the planted file with LocalSystem privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-50917
- Published
- Jan 13, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 13, 2026
- Vendor
- Proton AG
- Product
- Proton VPN
- Classifications
- CWE-428, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 13, 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=1.26.0
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
- ProtonVPN 1.26.0 - Unquoted Service Pathproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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