CVE-2016-20085 Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 Privilege Escalation
Local attackers can escalate privileges to LocalSystem by placing a malicious executable in the unquoted service path of the Realtek audio driver.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2016-20085?
CVE-2016-20085 is a high-severity vulnerability in Realtek High Definition Audio Driver, published on 19 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
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.
Weakness: CWE-428
Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-20085?
How do I fix CVE-2016-20085?
No fix has been published for CVE-2016-20085 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2016-20085 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-20085 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-w258-mjv8-mjj6.