CVE-2016-20060
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2016-20060 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in Hotspotshield (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 5th 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 map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2016-20060 is an unquoted service path vulnerability in the hshld service binary of Hotspot Shield version 6.0.3. This classic Windows service misconfiguration (CWE-428) occurs when the service path lacks proper quoting, enabling attackers to hijack execution by placing malicious files in intermediate directories searched by the system.
Local attackers with low privileges (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability with low attack complexity (AC:L) and no user interaction required. By injecting a malicious executable into a writable directory along the service path, they trigger execution with LocalSystem privileges upon service restart or system reboot, resulting in high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CVSS:3.1 score of 7.8).
References include a proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB (ID 40528) and an advisory from VulnCheck detailing the privilege escalation. Hotspot Shield vendor pages provide download links, which may relate to updates addressing the issue, though specific patch instructions are outlined in these resources.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2016-10869
Vulnerability Data
Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the hshld service binary that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by injecting malicious executables. Attackers can place executable files in the service path and upon service restart or system…
more
reboot, the malicious code executes with LocalSystem privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover unquoted search paths through static analysis or dynamic test cases.
Documented development standards and tools can mandate proper quoting and escaping of path elements.
Engineering principles can require safe construction and quoting of search paths and command elements.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly prevent path-handling flaws such as unquoted elements during development.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Enforcing controlled software installation can prevent unquoted search-path elements in executables and scripts.
Secure development lifecycle practices include input validation and path handling that reduce unquoted search-path weaknesses.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles require safe path construction and quoting conventions.
Secure coding standards directly mandate quoting search paths and avoiding unsafe path construction.
Security testing in development can detect unquoted search-path issues before deployment.
Change-management processes can enforce review of path-handling changes that might introduce unquoted elements.