CVE-2023-53973Public exploit

SYSTEM privilege escalation via symlinked quarantine restore

Published Dec 22, 2025 · Updated Dec 22, 2025

Link-following in Zillya Total Security 3.0.2367.0 allows local users to write files into protected Windows directories via quarantine restore. A low-privilege user replaces the quarantined file's original folder with a mount-point link, and the SYSTEM-level restore follows it into a restricted target. Local access and control of a file that Zillya quarantines are required; planting a DLL in a privileged search path enables execution with SYSTEM privileges.

CVSS severity8.5
High
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Link-following in Zillya Total Security 3.0.2367.0 allows local users to write files into protected Windows directories via quarantine restore. A low-privilege user replaces the quarantined file's original folder with a mount-point link, and the SYSTEM-level restore follows it into a restricted target. Local access and control of a file that Zillya quarantines are required; planting a DLL in a privileged search path enables execution with SYSTEM privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-53973
Published
Dec 22, 2025
Updated
Dec 22, 2025
Vendor
Zillya
Product
Zillya Total Security
Classifications
CWE-59, T1574.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 22, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 22, 2025Record 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.0.2367.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Zillya · Zillya Total Securityversion=3.0.2367.0

Published CVSS scores

8.5VulnCheckCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
8.4VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
T1574.001Hijack Execution Flow: DLL

Public exploit references

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