CVE-2016-20059
Published: 04 April 2026
Summary
CVE-2016-20059 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in Iobit Malware Fighter. Its CVSS base score is 8.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception by Unquoted Path (T1574.009); ranked at the 7.3th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and RA-5 (Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2016-20059 is an unquoted service path vulnerability affecting IObit Malware Fighter version 4.3.1, specifically in the IMFservice and LiveUpdateSvc Windows services. This flaw, classified under CWE-428, arises when the service executable paths are not properly quoted, enabling local privilege escalation. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high impact with low complexity and low privileges required.
Local attackers with low-level privileges can exploit this vulnerability by placing a malicious executable in a directory along the unquoted service path. When the affected service restarts or the system reboots, the malicious executable executes with LocalSystem privileges, allowing full control over the system, including high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.
Advisories and resources, including the Vulncheck advisory on the IObit Malware Fighter unquoted service path privilege escalation and an Exploit-DB entry (exploit 40525), detail the issue and provide proof-of-concept exploitation. IObit product pages offer downloads for Malware Fighter, potentially including updated versions, though specific patch details are not outlined in the provided references.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2016-10867
Vulnerability details
IObit Malware Fighter 4.3.1 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the IMFservice and LiveUpdateSvc services that allows local attackers to escalate privileges. Attackers can insert a malicious executable file in the unquoted service path and trigger privilege escalation when…
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the service restarts or the system reboots, executing code with LocalSystem privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Unquoted service path in IMFservice/LiveUpdateSvc directly enables path interception by unquoted path (T1574.009) for local privilege escalation to LocalSystem.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
CM-6 enforces secure configuration settings for system components, directly preventing exploitation by requiring properly quoted executable paths in services like IMFservice and LiveUpdateSvc.
SI-2 requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of flaws such as the unquoted service path vulnerability in IObit Malware Fighter, eliminating the privilege escalation risk.
RA-5 vulnerability scanning identifies unquoted service path vulnerabilities in Windows services like IMFservice and LiveUpdateSvc, enabling detection and prioritization for remediation.