Is CVE-2020-37252 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2020-37252 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2020-37252?

High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 19 June 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

Realtek Audio Service 1.0.0.55.

Is there a fix for CVE-2020-37252?

No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.

How is CVE-2020-37252 attacked?

It is attacked with local access, in a network appliance.

Am I affected by CVE-2020-37252?

Check whether you run Realtek Audio Service at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2020-37252: Realtek Audio Service unquoted service path in RtkAudioService64.exe

CVE-2020-37252 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2026-06-19

Realtek Audio Service, a software component responsible for managing audio hardware on Windows systems, contains a security flaw in how it handles its internal file paths. A local user with limited access to the computer could exploit this to run their own malicious programs with the highest possible system permissions (LocalSystem). This could lead to a full takeover of the machine, allowing an attacker to bypass security controls or access sensitive data.

Vendors: Realtek.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2020-37252 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2020-37252 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2020-37252?: High severity, with a CVSS score of 7.8, published 19 June 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: Realtek Audio Service 1.0.0.55.
Is there a fix for CVE-2020-37252?: No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
How is CVE-2020-37252 attacked?: It is attacked with local access, in a network appliance.
Am I affected by CVE-2020-37252?: Check whether you run Realtek Audio Service at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

A vulnerability exists in Realtek Audio Service version 1.0.0.55 due to an unquoted service path (CWE-428) in the RtkAudioService64.exe executable. The service path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks, which allows a local attacker with write permissions to the parent directories (such as C:\) to place a malicious executable (e.g., C:\Program.exe). Because the service runs with LocalSystem privileges, the malicious code will be executed with elevated permissions during the next system reboot or service startup. This is a local privilege escalation (LPE) vulnerability requiring local access but no user interaction.

Affected products

Realtek Audio Service 1.0.0.55

Timeline

2020-11-07: disclosed: Vulnerability discovered by Erika Figueroa
2020-11-09: other: Exploit published on Exploit-DB
2026-06-19: advisory: NVD/VulnCheck advisory published

References

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