SYSTEM privilege escalation via unquoted service path
Published Aug 25, 2025 · Updated Aug 25, 2025
Unquoted search paths in affected Moxa DRP-A100 and DRP-C100 utilities allow local users to execute code as SYSTEM. SerialInterfaceService.exe registers an executable path without quotation marks, so Windows can resolve an attacker-placed executable from a higher-priority directory when the service starts. Exploitation requires limited local privileges and write access to such a directory; successful execution grants SYSTEM privileges and can establish persistence on the affected device.
Summary
What happened
Unquoted search paths in affected Moxa DRP-A100 and DRP-C100 utilities allow local users to execute code as SYSTEM. SerialInterfaceService.exe registers an executable path without quotation marks, so Windows can resolve an attacker-placed executable from a higher-priority directory when the service starts. Exploitation requires limited local privileges and write access to such a directory; successful execution grants SYSTEM privileges and can establish persistence on the affected device.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-5191
- Published
- Aug 25, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 25, 2025
- Vendor
- Moxa
- Product
- Utility for DRP-C100 Series
- Classifications
- CWE-428, CAPEC-233, T1574.009
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 25, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 25, 2025Record 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=1.0
- Affected versionversion=1.0 <=1.1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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