CVE-2020-36974
Local privilege escalation via unquoted service path in Realtek RT Filters driver.
Is CVE-2020-36974 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2020-36974 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-2020-36974?
CVE-2020-36974 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-2020-36974?
Not known from our data. No patch reference has been recorded for CVE-2020-36974, 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-2020-36974 affect?
CVE-2020-36974 affects Realtek Andrea RT Filters 1.0.64.7, Windows with AESTSr64.exe service. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2020-36974?
Update to patched driver when released; monitor Realtek advisories.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local user gains SYSTEM privileges via unquoted AESTSr64.exe service path during startup.
Patch when possible
- affected1.0.64.7
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.