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Mallory
HighPublic exploit

Local Privilege Escalation via Unquoted Service Path in ActFax 10.10 ActiveFaxServiceNT

IdentifiersCVE-2023-53954CWE-428· Unquoted Search Path or Element

ActFax 10.10 is affected by an unquoted service path vulnerability in the Windows service configuration for ActiveFaxServiceNT. Because the service image path is not properly quoted, Windows may resolve and execute an attacker-controlled executable (e.g., a malicious ActSrvNT.exe) from a writable location in the search path. A local attacker who can write to relevant Program Files directories can place the malicious executable such that it is launched with the service’s privileges when the service is started/restarted, enabling privilege escalation.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code in the security context of the ActiveFaxServiceNT service (potentially SYSTEM), resulting in local privilege escalation and full compromise of the affected host (e.g., ability to install programs, modify system settings, and access protected data).

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Ensure the service ImagePath is quoted and points to the intended binary. Audit and harden filesystem ACLs so non-admin users cannot write to directories in the service’s executable search path (including relevant Program Files subdirectories). Monitor for unexpected executables (e.g., ActSrvNT.exe) appearing in writable path segments and for anomalous service restarts.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Update the ActiveFaxServiceNT service configuration to use a fully qualified, properly quoted ImagePath for the service binary (e.g., wrapping the full path in quotes). After correcting the configuration, restart the service to ensure the corrected path is in effect.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

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VendorProductType
ActfaxActfaxapplication

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Detection signatures

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Social activity2

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