Realtek HD Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 Unquoted Service Path PrivEsc
CVE-2016-20085 Published on June 19, 2026
Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 Privilege Escalation
Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by placing a malicious executable in the service path. Attackers can insert an executable file in the unquoted path and restart the service to execute code with LocalSystem privileges.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2016-20085 can be exploited with local system access, and requires small amount of user privileges. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. Public availability of a proof of concept (POC) exploit exists for CVE-2016-20085. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Weakness Type
Unquoted Search Path or Element
The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path. If a malicious individual has access to the file system, it is possible to elevate privileges by inserting such a file as "C:\Program.exe" to be run by a privileged program making use of WinExec.
Products Associated with CVE-2016-20085
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Affected Versions
Realtek High Definition Audio Driver Version 6.0.1.6730 is affected by CVE-2016-20085Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.