CVE-2016-20060
Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalation
Description
Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the hshld service binary that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by injecting malicious executables. Attackers can place executable files in the service path and upon service restart or system reboot, the malicious code executes with LocalSystem privileges.
INFO
Published Date :
April 4, 2026, 2:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
April 4, 2026, 2:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2016-20060
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update Hotspot Shield to the latest version.
- Ensure service paths are properly quoted.
- Remove any unauthorized executables from service directories.
- Restart the affected service or the system.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2016-20060.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2016-20060 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2016-20060
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2016-20060 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2016-20060 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Apr. 04, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the hshld service binary that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by injecting malicious executables. Attackers can place executable files in the service path and upon service restart or system reboot, the malicious code executes with LocalSystem privileges. Added CVSS V4.0 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 Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-428 Added Reference https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40528 Added Reference https://www.hotspotshield.com Added Reference https://www.hotspotshield.com/download/ Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hotspot-shield-unquoted-service-path-privilege-escalation