CVE-2016-20060

HIGH

Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalation

Title source: cna
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2016-20060. PoCs published by Amir.ght.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This is a technical writeup describing an unquoted service path privilege escalation vulnerability in Hotspot Shield. The vulnerability allows a local attacker to escalate privileges by inserting a malicious executable in the service path, which gets executed upon service restart or system reboot.

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.

Exploits (1)

exploitdb WRITEUP VERIFIED
by Amir.ght · textlocalwindows
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40528

This is a technical writeup describing an unquoted service path privilege escalation vulnerability in Hotspot Shield. The vulnerability allows a local attacker to escalate privileges by inserting a malicious executable in the service path, which gets executed upon service restart or system reboot.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Hotspot Shield 6.0.3
Auth required
Prerequisites: local access to the system · ability to place an executable in the service path
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 07, 2026 Full analysis →

References (4)

Core 4
Core References
Exploit exploit
ExploitDB-40528
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40528
Product product
Official Product Homepage
https://www.hotspotshield.com
Product product
Product Reference
https://www.hotspotshield.com/download/
Third Party Advisory third-party-advisory
VulnCheck Advisory: Hotspot Shield 6.0.3 Unquoted Service Path Privilege Escalation
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/hotspot-shield-unquoted-service-path-privilege-escalation

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0015
EPSS Percentile 4.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation poc
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CWE
CWE-428
Status published
Products (1)
Hotspotshield/Hotspot Shield 6.0.3
Published Apr 04, 2026
Tracked Since Apr 04, 2026