CVE-2020-37021: 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor Escalation

CVE-2020-37021 Overview

CVE-2020-37021 is an unquoted service path vulnerability affecting 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor version 3.9. This flaw exists in multiple Windows services installed by the application, allowing local attackers with limited privileges to escalate their access to SYSTEM level. The vulnerability arises from improper quoting of file paths in the service configuration, enabling attackers to place malicious executables in strategic locations that get executed during service startup.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can achieve SYSTEM-level privilege escalation by exploiting unquoted service paths, potentially gaining complete control over the affected system.

Affected Products

• 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor version 3.9
• Windows services installed by 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor (svcStrikeBandMonitor)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-29 - CVE CVE-2020-37021 published to NVD
• 2026-01-29 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2020-37021

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-428 (Unquoted Search Path or Element). When Windows services are configured with executable paths that contain spaces but are not enclosed in quotation marks, the operating system attempts to locate the executable by parsing the path at each space character. This creates an opportunity for attackers to place a malicious executable in a location that matches an earlier parsing attempt.

For example, if a service path is configured as C:\Program Files\10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor\service.exe, Windows will sequentially attempt to execute C:\Program.exe, then C:\Program Files\10-Strike.exe, before finally reaching the intended executable. An attacker who can write to these locations can achieve code execution with the privileges of the service.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from the service registration process in 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor 3.9, where the ImagePath registry value for the affected services is stored without proper quotation marks around the file path. This is a common configuration error in Windows applications that install services with paths containing spaces.

Attack Vector

This is a local attack vector requiring the attacker to have authenticated access to the system with write permissions to one of the path prefix locations. The attack flow involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable unquoted service path in the Windows registry
2. Determining which path prefix locations are writable by the current user
3. Placing a malicious executable (such as Program.exe or 10-Strike.exe) in a writable location
4. Waiting for or triggering a service restart, at which point the malicious executable runs with SYSTEM privileges

The vulnerability can be verified by examining service configurations using tools like Windows Service Manager or by querying the registry. Detailed exploit information is available in the Exploit-DB #48591 entry.

Detection Methods for CVE-2020-37021

Indicators of Compromise

• Presence of unexpected executables in C:\ root directory or C:\Program Files\ with names like Program.exe or 10-Strike.exe
• Unusual child processes spawned by the 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor service
• Service crash logs followed by suspicious process execution
• Registry modifications to service ImagePath values

Detection Strategies

• Use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) queries to identify services with unquoted paths containing spaces
• Monitor for file creation events in path prefix locations (C:\, C:\Program Files\)
• Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized executables from running
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions like SentinelOne to detect privilege escalation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Windows Security Event logging for service installation and modification events (Event IDs 4697, 7045)
• Configure file integrity monitoring on directories commonly targeted by this attack technique
• Implement real-time alerting for any new executable files created in the root drive or program files directories
• Use SentinelOne's behavioral AI to detect unusual service-related process chains indicative of privilege escalation

How to Mitigate CVE-2020-37021

Immediate Actions Required

• Audit all Windows services for unquoted paths using PowerShell or third-party tools
• Manually correct the service path by adding quotation marks around the ImagePath value in the registry
• Restrict write permissions on root directories and C:\Program Files\ to administrators only
• Consider uninstalling 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor 3.9 if not critical to operations

Patch Information

No official patch information is available from the vendor at this time. Organizations should consult the 10-Strike Security Tools website for any updates or newer versions that may address this vulnerability. The VulnCheck Advisory on Bandwidth Monitor provides additional technical details and remediation guidance.

Workarounds

• Manually fix the unquoted service path by modifying the registry ImagePath value to include quotation marks
• Implement strict file system ACLs to prevent non-administrators from creating files in vulnerable path locations
• Deploy application control policies to block execution of unauthorized binaries
• Use Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) or AppLocker to whitelist approved executables

# PowerShell command to identify services with unquoted paths
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Service | Where-Object { 
    $_.PathName -notmatch '^"' -and $_.PathName -match '\s' 
} | Select-Object Name, PathName, StartMode

# Registry fix command (run as Administrator)
# Replace the unquoted path with a properly quoted version
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\svcStrikeBandMonitor" /v ImagePath /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "\"C:\Program Files\10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor\service.exe\"" /f