Cyber Resilience

CVE-2020-37102

Public PoC
Published
03 February 2026
Modified
15 April 2026
CVSS Score v4 8.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS: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:X
EPSS Score 0.0012 2th percentile
Risk Priority 30 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2020-37102 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in Webcompanion (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 2th 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-2020-37102 is an unquoted service path vulnerability in the WCAssistantService component of Adaware Web Companion version 4.9.2159. This issue, mapped to CWE-428, enables local attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code by exploiting the unquoted binary path in the service configuration. 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 2026-02-03.

Local attackers with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability by placing a malicious executable in a directory that precedes the legitimate service binary in the system's search path. When the WCAssistantService starts, the system executes the attacker's binary instead, running it with LocalSystem privileges and potentially achieving high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Advisories, including one from VulnCheck at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/adaware-web-companion-wcassistantservice-unquoted-service-path, describe the unquoted path flaw in detail. A proof-of-concept exploit is publicly available on Exploit-DB at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/47852. Vendor pages at http://webcompanion.com/ and related links provide additional context but do not specify patches in the referenced materials.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Adaware Web Companion 4.9.2159 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the WCAssistantService that allows local attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code. Attackers can exploit the unquoted binary path to inject malicious executables that will be run with LocalSystem privileges…

more

during service startup.

CWE(s)
CWE-428

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2016-20057Shared CWE-428
CVE-2025-10199Shared CWE-428
CVE-2024-22437Shared CWE-428
CVE-2026-25866Shared CWE-428
CVE-2020-37223Shared CWE-428
CVE-2020-37230Shared CWE-428
CVE-2023-53984Shared CWE-428
CVE-2023-24671Shared CWE-428
CVE-2023-2331Shared CWE-428
CVE-2019-25307Shared CWE-428

Affected Assets

Webcompanion
—
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation can discover unquoted search paths through static analysis or dynamic test cases.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Documented development standards and tools can mandate proper quoting and escaping of path elements.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect unquoted search-path issues before deployment.

A.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
degrades

Enforcing controlled software installation can prevent unquoted search-path elements in executables and scripts.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle practices include input validation and path handling that reduce unquoted search-path weaknesses.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
degrades

Secure system architecture and engineering principles require safe path construction and quoting conventions.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly mandate quoting search paths and avoiding unsafe path construction.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
degrades

Change-management processes can enforce review of path-handling changes that might introduce unquoted elements.

References