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CivetwebApplication · Civetweb Project

CVE-2026-5789

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-04-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Vulnerability related to an unquoted search path in CivetWeb v1.16. This vulnerability allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges by placing a malicious executable in a directory that is scanned before the intended application path (C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\CivetWeb.exe --), due to the absence of quotes in the service configuration.

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

An unquoted service path vulnerability in CivetWeb v1.16 allows local privilege escalation. The Windows service configuration for CivetWeb.exe at C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\ lacks quotation marks around the executable path, causing Windows to search for executables in intermediate directories (e.g., C:\Program) before the intended application, potentially allowing a local attacker to place a malicious binary that executes with elevated privileges.

MitigationAdd double quotes around the executable path in the Windows service configuration (e.g., "C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\CivetWeb.exe") and ensure proper filesystem permissions to prevent unauthorized write access to parent directories.

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
CivetwebApplication
Affected:= 1.16

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check if CivetWeb is installed as a Windows service
    Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: sc queryex type= service state= all | findstr /i "civetweb"
    Affected if No CivetWeb service is found - not affected by this specific vulnerability
  2. Retrieve the service executable path
    Run: sc qc CivetWeb (or sc qc <service_name> if named differently)
    Affected if The service does not exist - not affected
  3. Examine the BinPath for quotation marks
    Run: wmic service where "name='CivetWeb'" get pathname /format:list (or check the BINPATH displayed by sc qc)
    Affected if The displayed path contains spaces and is NOT wrapped in double quotes - AFFECTED
  4. Identify intermediate directories in the unquoted path
    If the BinPath is unquoted (e.g., C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\CivetWeb.exe), note each directory: C:\Program, C:\Program Files\CivetWeb, etc.
    Affected if The path has intermediate directories that could be writable by a non-admin user - higher risk of exploitation

If CivetWeb runs as a Windows service AND the executable path in the service configuration contains spaces but lacks double quotes around it, the environment is affected by this CVE.

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

Add double quotes around the executable path in the Windows service configuration (e.g., "C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\CivetWeb.exe") and ensure proper filesystem permissions to prevent unauthorized write access to parent directories.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Check vendor release notes for CivetWeb > 1.16 for any security updates addressing CWE-428

  1. 1. Identify the Windows service configuration for CivetWeb by checking the service properties (services.msc) or using: sc qc CivetWeb
  2. 2. Note the binary path value (BINARY_PATH_NAME) which should show: C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\CivetWeb.exe [arguments]
  3. 3. Modify the service to use quoted paths by running: sc config CivetWeb binPath= "C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\CivetWeb.exe [arguments]"
  4. 4. Alternatively, reinstall CivetWeb using an installer that properly quotes the service path, or upgrade to a version where the installer handles this correctly
  5. 5. Verify the fix by running: sc qc CivetWeb and confirming the path is now enclosed in double quotes
  6. 6. Restart the service to apply changes: net stop CivetWeb && net start CivetWeb
  7. 7. Review directory permissions on C:\Program Files\CivetWeb\ and all parent directories to ensure low-privileged users cannot write to locations that would be searched before the intended executable (e.g., C:\)

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

Fix this in Civetweb Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2026-5789 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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