CVE-2016-5793
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUnquoted Windows search path vulnerability in Moxa Active OPC Server before 2.4.19 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse executable file in the %SYSTEMDRIVE% directory.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMoxa Active OPC Server versions prior to 2.4.19 contain an unquoted Windows service path vulnerability. The service executable path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotes, causing Windows to search for and execute malicious executables placed in the %SYSTEMDRIVE% directory (e.g., C:\) when the service starts. Local users can exploit this to gain elevated privileges by placing a Trojan horse executable with a name that matches an intermediate path component.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 2.4.18CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check if Moxa Active OPC Server is installedOpen Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check the default installation directory C:\Program Files\Moxa\ActiveOPCServer for the presence of the softwareAffected if Moxa Active OPC Server appears in installed programs or the installation directory exists
-
Identify the installed versionRight-click on the Moxa Active OPC Server entry in Programs and Features and select Properties, or check the version info of the main executable file in the installation directoryAffected if The version shown is 2.4.18 or lower
-
Locate the Windows service entryOpen Services (services.msc) and look for a service containing 'ActiveOPC' or 'Moxa Active OPC' in the name, or run 'sc queryex type= service state= all' and search for the service nameAffected if A Windows service associated with Moxa Active OPC Server is found
-
Inspect the service executable path for quotesRun 'sc qc <service_name>' from command prompt or check the ImagePath value in registry under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\<service_name>Affected if The BINARY_PATH_VALUE or ImagePath contains spaces and is not enclosed in double quotes (e.g., C:\Program Files\Moxa\ActiveOPCServer\server.exe instead of "C:\Program Files\Moxa\ActiveOPCServer\server.exe")
-
Confirm version is within affected rangeIf version cannot be directly determined, compare the installed build against the fixed version 2.4.19Affected if Running version 2.4.18 or any version prior to 2.4.19
A user is affected if Moxa Active OPC Server version 2.4.18 or lower is installed AND the service's executable path contains spaces without being enclosed in quotes.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade Moxa Active OPC Server to version 2.4.19 or later, which contains the vendor fix for this vulnerability.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5793 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-5793 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data