# CVE-2017-20218: Serviio PRO 1.8 Local Privilege Escalation via Unquoted Path

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to execute arbitrary code by exploiting unquoted service paths and weak directory permissions in Serviio PRO.

- **Severity:** High 8.5 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Mar 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-mxj5-2p9r-3838

## What is CVE-2017-20218?

CVE-2017-20218 is a high-severity vulnerability in Serviio PRO, published on 15 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Serviio PRO 1.8 contains an unquoted search path vulnerability in the Windows service that allows local users to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges by placing malicious executables in the system root path. Additionally, improper directory permissions with full access for the Users group allow authenticated users to replace the executable file with arbitrary binaries, enabling privilege escalation during service startup or system reboot.

Weakness: CWE-428 (Unquoted Search Path or Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-20218?


## How do I fix CVE-2017-20218?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-20218 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-20218 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-20218 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-20218 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-20218 is a high-severity vulnerability in Serviio PRO, published on 15 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2017-20218 exists.

Affected product: Serviio PRO. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-20218/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-20218/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-20218
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-20218
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-20218

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-20218/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.