CVE-2022-50913: ITeC ITeCProteccioAppServer Privilege Escalation

CVE-2022-50913 Overview

ITeC ITeCProteccioAppServer contains an unquoted service path vulnerability (CWE-428) that allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated system privileges. This vulnerability arises when Windows services are configured with executable paths that contain spaces but lack proper quotation marks, enabling attackers to hijack the service execution path by placing a malicious executable in a predictable location.

When the vulnerable service starts, Windows parses the unquoted path and may execute an attacker-controlled binary instead of the intended service executable. This attack vector is particularly dangerous because services typically run with SYSTEM privileges, granting complete control over the affected host upon successful exploitation.

Critical Impact

Local attackers can achieve SYSTEM-level privilege escalation by exploiting the unquoted service path, potentially leading to complete system compromise during service restart or system reboot.

Affected Products

• ITeC ITeCProteccioAppServer

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-13 - CVE CVE-2022-50913 published to NVD
• 2026-01-13 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2022-50913

Vulnerability Analysis

The unquoted service path vulnerability in ITeC ITeCProteccioAppServer stems from improper configuration of the Windows service executable path. When a service path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks, Windows follows a specific order when attempting to locate the executable.

For example, if a service path is configured as C:\Program Files\ITeC\ProteccioAppServer\service.exe without quotes, Windows will attempt to execute in the following order:

1. C:\Program.exe
2. C:\Program Files\ITeC\ProteccioAppServer\service.exe

An attacker with local write access to C:\ or other directories in the path can place a malicious executable named Program.exe that will be executed with the same privileges as the service—typically SYSTEM. The attack requires local access and write permissions to a directory in the service path, but results in complete privilege escalation upon service restart or system reboot.

Root Cause

The root cause is an insecure service configuration where the ImagePath registry value for the ITeCProteccioAppServer service lacks proper quotation marks around the executable path. This misconfiguration violates secure coding practices for Windows service installation and allows the operating system's path resolution mechanism to be exploited by attackers who can write files to directories earlier in the search path.

Attack Vector

This is a local attack vector requiring an attacker to have initial access to the target system with write permissions to a directory that appears before the legitimate executable in the unquoted path. The attack proceeds as follows:

1. Attacker identifies the vulnerable unquoted service path in the Windows registry
2. Attacker creates a malicious executable (e.g., Program.exe) and places it in C:\ or another exploitable directory
3. Upon service restart, Windows Update reboot, or system reboot, the malicious executable is executed with SYSTEM privileges
4. Attacker gains complete control of the system with elevated privileges

The vulnerability is documented in Exploit-DB #50902 and additional technical details are available in the VulnCheck Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2022-50913

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected executable files in root directories or paths containing spaces (e.g., C:\Program.exe, C:\Program Files.exe)
• New executables appearing in directories along the unquoted service path before the legitimate binary location
• Anomalous process creation events where services spawn unexpected child processes
• Registry modifications to service ImagePath values that remove quotation marks

Detection Strategies

• Use Windows Event Log monitoring for Event ID 7045 (new service installation) to detect suspicious service modifications
• Deploy endpoint detection rules to identify executable creation in unusual locations such as C:\ root directory
• Query the Windows registry for services with unquoted paths using wmic service get name,pathname | findstr /i "program files" | findstr /v """
• Monitor for process creation events where parent process is a service and child process path differs from expected service binary

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable enhanced Windows process auditing (Event ID 4688) with command line logging to capture service-related process execution
• Implement file integrity monitoring on critical system directories and service executable paths
• Configure alerts for any new executable files created in the root drive or C:\Program Files\ parent directory
• Regularly audit service configurations using scripts or security tools to identify unquoted service paths

How to Mitigate CVE-2022-50913

Immediate Actions Required

• Audit all installed services for unquoted paths using PowerShell: Get-WmiObject win32_service | Where-Object {$_.PathName -like "* *" -and $_.PathName -notlike '"*'} | Select Name, PathName
• Manually remediate by adding quotation marks around the service ImagePath in the Windows registry
• Restrict write permissions on directories in the service path to prevent attacker-placed executables
• Monitor for the presence of unexpected executables in C:\ and C:\Program Files\ directories

Patch Information

Contact ITeC for an updated version of ITeCProteccioAppServer that properly quotes the service executable path during installation. Until an official patch is available, apply the manual registry fix described below. Additional vendor information may be available at the ITEC Programs Overview page.

Workarounds

• Manually add quotation marks to the service path in the registry: Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ITeCProteccioAppServer and modify the ImagePath value to wrap the full path in double quotes
• Remove write permissions from C:\ and intermediate directories for non-administrator users
• Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized binaries in system directories
• Consider running the service under a less privileged account if SYSTEM privileges are not required for its operation

# Registry fix command (run as Administrator)
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ITeCProteccioAppServer" /v ImagePath /t REG_EXPAND_SZ /d "\"C:\Program Files\ITeC\ProteccioAppServer\service.exe\"" /f