CVE-2019-25261
Published: 03 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2019-25261 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in Anydesk Anydesk. 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 5.9th 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 SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2019-25261 is an unquoted service path vulnerability affecting AnyDesk version 5.4.0 on Windows systems. The issue resides in the software's Windows service configuration, where the service binary path lacks proper quoting, enabling local attackers to potentially inject malicious executables into locations that the service would execute.
Local attackers with low privileges (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability by placing malicious files in directories parsed by the unquoted service path, such as intermediate folders along the path to the legitimate AnyDesk executable. Successful exploitation allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated system privileges, resulting in high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts (CVSS 7.8, CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and mapped to CWE-428 (Unquoted Search Path or Element).
Advisories and references, including the AnyDesk vendor site (http://anydesk.com), an Exploit-DB proof-of-concept (https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/47883), and a Vulncheck advisory (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/anydesk-unquoted-service-path), document the issue, with the Exploit-DB entry providing exploit details for reproduction.
A publicly available exploit on Exploit-DB indicates proof-of-concept exploitation is feasible, though no widespread real-world attacks are detailed in the provided information.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2019-19379
Vulnerability details
AnyDesk 5.4.0 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in its Windows service configuration that allows local attackers to potentially inject malicious executables. Attackers can exploit the unquoted binary path to place malicious files in service executable locations, potentially gaining elevated…
more
system privileges.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Directly enables path interception via unquoted service binary path (T1574.009) for local privilege escalation (T1068).
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Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of flaws such as the unquoted service path vulnerability in AnyDesk 5.4.0.
Enforces secure and documented configuration settings for Windows services, including proper quoting of executable paths to block exploitation.
Deploys malicious code protection mechanisms to scan for and prevent execution of injected malicious executables via the unquoted service path.