CVE-2020-37021
Published: 29 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2020-37021 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in 10 Strike (inferred from references). 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 1.8th 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-10 (Software Usage Restrictions) and CM-6 (Configuration Settings).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2020-37021 is an unquoted service path vulnerability (CWE-428) present in 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor version 3.9. The issue affects multiple services within the software, where the service binaries are referenced without quotes in the Windows registry. This allows local attackers to escalate privileges by hijacking the service execution path. The vulnerability carries 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) and was published on 2026-01-29.
Local attackers with low-privilege (PR:L) access can exploit the vulnerability with low complexity and no user interaction required. By placing a malicious executable in specific file path locations that precede the legitimate service binary (due to the unquoted path), the attacker tricks the service into executing their payload during startup. This results in full SYSTEM-level privilege escalation, providing high-impact access to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Advisories and references, including the vendor site at https://www.10-strike.com/, the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/bandwidth-monitor-svcstrikebandmontitor-unquoted-service-path, and a proof-of-concept exploit at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48591, highlight the need for patching affected installations to quote service paths properly and prevent exploitation.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-30924
Vulnerability details
10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor 3.9 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in multiple services that allows local attackers to escalate privileges. Attackers can place a malicious executable in specific file path locations to achieve privilege escalation to SYSTEM during service startup.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Unquoted service path (CWE-428) directly enables path interception by unquoted path for local privilege escalation to SYSTEM.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces secure configuration settings by requiring properly quoted executable paths for services in the Windows registry, directly preventing unquoted service path hijacking.
Mandates timely identification and remediation of flaws like unquoted service paths through patching or configuration corrections specific to this vulnerability.
Implements software usage restrictions via allowlisting to block execution of malicious executables placed by attackers exploiting the unquoted service path.