CVE-2021-47833
Published: 16 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2021-47833 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in Gearboxcomputers (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 4.8th 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-6 (Configuration Settings) and CM-7 (Least Functionality).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2021-47833 is an unquoted service path vulnerability in WifiHotSpot version 1.0.0.0, affecting the WifiHotSpotService.exe service. This issue, mapped to CWE-428, enables local privilege escalation and 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). The vulnerability stems from the service's executable path not being properly quoted, allowing attackers to hijack execution under elevated privileges.
Local attackers with low-privilege access (PR:L) can exploit the unquoted path by placing a malicious executable in a directory traversed during service startup or system reboot. Successful exploitation executes the attacker's code with LocalSystem permissions, granting high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts (C:H/I:H/A:H) without requiring user interaction.
Advisories such as the VulnCheck report at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/wifihotspot-wifihotspotserviceexe-unquoted-service-path provide further details on the flaw, while a proof-of-concept exploit is publicly available at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/49845. Security practitioners should consult these resources and the vendor site at https://wifi-hotspot.gearboxcomputers.com/ for any recommended mitigations, such as service reconfiguration or software updates.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-2892
Vulnerability details
WifiHotSpot 1.0.0.0 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in its WifiHotSpotService.exe that allows local attackers to execute code with elevated privileges. Attackers can exploit the unquoted path during system startup or reboot to inject and run malicious executables with LocalSystem…
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- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Unquoted service path in Windows service directly enables path interception by unquoted path for local privilege escalation to LocalSystem.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly remediates the unquoted service path flaw in WifiHotSpotService.exe through timely patching, reconfiguration, or removal to prevent local privilege escalation.
Enforces secure configuration settings for services, including proper quoting of executable paths to block hijacking during startup or reboot.
Restricts system to least functionality by prohibiting or disabling unnecessary services like WifiHotSpot, eliminating the vulnerable service path entirely.