CWE-428Weakness · CWE-428

CVE-2022-50935

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Flame II HSPA USB Modem contains an unquoted service path vulnerability in its Windows service configuration. Attackers can exploit the unquoted path in 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Telcel\ApplicationController.exe' to execute arbitrary code with elevated system privileges.

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 confidence

The Flame II HSPA USB Modem Windows service uses an unquoted executable path containing spaces (C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Telcel\ApplicationController.exe). An attacker can place a malicious executable in an intermediate directory (e.g., 'C:\Program.exe' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet.exe') which Windows will execute before the intended binary due to the unquoted path, achieving code execution with SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationThis vulnerability requires a vendor firmware/software update to properly quote the service path; the device is likely end-of-life. As a workaround, disable or remove the ApplicationController service if possible, and ensure strict file system permissions prevent unauthorized writes to parent directories.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify if ApplicationController service exists
    Run 'sc query ApplicationController' in Command Prompt or 'Get-Service -Name ApplicationController' in PowerShell
    Affected if The service is present on the system
  2. Check the service binary path configuration
    Run 'sc qc ApplicationController' to view the service configuration, specifically the BINARY_PATH_NAME field
    Affected if The BINARY_PATH_NAME contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks (e.g., shows C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Telcel\ApplicationController.exe without quotes)
  3. Identify intermediate directories in the unquoted path
    Parse the unquoted path to identify potential injection points: C:\Program.exe, C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet.exe
    Affected if The service path contains unquoted spaces creating intermediate directory opportunities
  4. Check for malicious executables in intermediate directories
    Inspect the file system for executables at: C:\Program.exe, C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet.exe
    Affected if Any unexpected executable exists in these intermediate path locations
  5. Verify service logon account
    Run 'sc qc ApplicationController' and check the START_TYPE and OBJECT_NAME fields, or use 'wmic service where name="ApplicationController" get StartName,State'
    Affected if The service runs as LocalSystem or another privileged account (OBJECT_NAME shows LocalSystem)

A system is affected if the ApplicationController service exists with an unquoted path containing spaces (C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Telcel\ApplicationController.exe) and runs with elevated privileges, allowing potential code injection via intermediate directories.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

This vulnerability requires a vendor firmware/software update to properly quote the service path; the device is likely end-of-life. As a workaround, disable or remove the ApplicationController service if possible, and ensure strict file system permissions prevent unauthorized writes to parent directories.

Recommended fix Low confidence
  1. Open Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ApplicationController
  2. Locate the 'ImagePath' value for the service
  3. Modify the ImagePath value to include quotes around the full path: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Telcel\ApplicationController.exe"
  4. Close the registry editor
  5. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and verify the service configuration by running: sc qc ApplicationController
  6. Restart the Windows machine for changes to take full effect
  7. Alternatively, if the service is not essential, delete the service using: sc delete ApplicationController (requires reboot)
Caveat This is a legacy HSPA USB modem device that is likely end-of-life with no manufacturer support; no firmware or software upgrade path is available

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-50935 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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