CVE-2022-50920
Published: 13 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2022-50920 is a high-severity Unquoted Search Path or Element (CWE-428) vulnerability in Sandboxie Plus (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 3.1th 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 RA-5 (Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2022-50920 is an unquoted service path vulnerability affecting Sandboxie-Plus version 5.50.2, specifically in the SbieSvc Windows service. This flaw, classified under CWE-428, arises from the service's binary path not being properly quoted, enabling local attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.4 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts with low attack complexity and no required privileges.
Local attackers can exploit this vulnerability by placing a malicious executable in a directory that precedes the legitimate service binary in the system's path search order. When the SbieSvc service starts, Windows will execute the attacker's malicious binary instead, granting it LocalSystem privileges. This allows full system compromise, including potential persistence, data exfiltration, or further lateral movement on the affected Windows host.
Advisories and related resources, including those from Vulncheck and an Exploit-DB proof-of-concept at exploit 50819, detail the issue; the official Sandboxie-Plus site provides further context. Practitioners should consult these for patch availability and mitigation guidance, such as updating to a fixed version or applying service path hardening.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-2634
Vulnerability details
Sandboxie-Plus 5.50.2 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the SbieSvc Windows service 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)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Unquoted service path directly enables path interception by unquoted path (T1574.009) to hijack service binary execution and achieve privilege escalation (T1068) via malicious executable placement.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of flaws like the unquoted service path in SbieSvc, preventing local attackers from executing arbitrary code with LocalSystem privileges.
Mandates secure configuration settings for system components, including properly quoting service binary paths to block path hijacking during service startup.
Provides vulnerability scanning to identify unquoted service path issues like CVE-2022-50920, enabling proactive detection and remediation before exploitation.