CVE-2016-20085
Unquoted service path in Realtek HD Audio Driver allows local privilege escalation.
Is CVE-2016-20085 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2016-20085 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.17% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2016-20085?
CVE-2016-20085 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.5. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2016-20085?
Not known from our data. No patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2016-20085, which is not the same as no patch existing — a fix may have shipped without a tagged reference, or after this record was written. The vendor advisory is the only authority on whether a fix exists, and mitigations may be available regardless.
What does CVE-2016-20085 affect?
CVE-2016-20085 affects Realtek High Definition Audio Driver 6.0.1.6730, Windows with Realtek HD Audio Driver. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2016-20085?
Update to patched Realtek driver when available
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local attacker can gain SYSTEM privileges by placing a malicious executable in the unquoted service path and restarting the service.
Patch when possible
- affected6.0.1.6730
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.