Active Webcam 115 Unquoted Service Path Patched May 2026
A local user without admin rights could:
Alternatively, the attacker could use C:\Program Files\Active.exe as the hijack target.
Active WebCam by PY Software is a utility that turns a standard PC webcam into a multi-channel streaming and surveillance system. It runs as a Windows service to allow continuous background recording, motion detection, and remote viewing. active webcam 115 unquoted service path patched
Version 11.5 (build 115) was particularly affected by a service path misconfiguration that, until now, exposed users to a classic Windows privilege escalation attack.
Using tools like sc qc (Service Control) or inspecting the registry, a vulnerable installation would display: A local user without admin rights could:
BINARY_PATH_NAME : C:\Program Files\Active Webcam 115\webcamservice.exe
No double quotes around the path. This is the telltale signature.
The unquoted service path vulnerability has been documented for over a decade. It persists because: Active WebCam by PY Software is a utility
A Windows service is a background process designed to run without user interaction. Services often run with high privileges — LocalSystem, LocalService, or NetworkService. When an application installs a service, it specifies the path to the executable.
When a Windows service is configured with a path containing spaces and not enclosed in quotation marks, the operating system’s service control manager interprets the path ambiguously.
