---
id: CVE-2020-37254
title: >-
  Wondershare PDFelement 5.2.9 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability due
  to an unquoted service path in the WsAppService Windows service
summary: >-
  Wondershare PDFelement 5.2.9 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability due
  to an unquoted service path in the WsAppService Windows service. Local
  attackers can place a malicious executable in the service path and execute
  code with Lo…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-428
published: '2026-06-19'
updated: '2026-09-29'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-29T09:10:00.157'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-37254'
references:
  - url: 'http://download.wondershare.com/inst/pdfelement_setup_full1042.exe'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40535'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: >-
      https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/wondershare-pdfelement-privilege-escalation-via-unquoted-service-path
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
  - url: 'https://www.wondershare.com/'
    label: disclosure@vulncheck.com
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00175
epssPercentile: 0.06292
ingestedAt: '2026-09-29T09:30:49.076Z'
---

## Overview

Wondershare PDFelement 5.2.9 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability due to an unquoted service path in the WsAppService Windows service. Local attackers can place a malicious executable in the service path and execute code with LocalSystem privileges upon service restart or system reboot.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.