VulnerabilityPublished 16 Feb 2026Updated 23 Feb 2026

CVE-2026-2542: Total VPN · Unquoted Search Path

Affects Total VPNSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.3 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

7.3High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: High
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High
Vulnerable system integrity: High
Vulnerable system availability: High
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable system is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or through terminal emulation (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., using social engineering techniques to trick a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: High: The successful attack depends on the evasion or circumvention of security-enhancing techniques in place that would otherwise hinder the attack. These include: Evasion of exploit mitigation techniques, for example, circumvention of address space randomization (ASLR) or data execution prevention (DEP) must be performed for the attack to be successful; Obtaining target-specific secrets. The attacker must gather some target-specific secret before the attack can be successful. A secret is any piece of information that cannot be obtained through any amount of reconnaissance. To obtain the secret the attacker must perform additional attacks or break otherwise secure measures (e.g. knowledge of a secret key may be needed to break a crypto channel). This operation must be performed for each attacked target.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker requires privileges that provide basic capabilities that are typically limited to settings and resources owned by a single low-privileged user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges has the ability to access only non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: High: There is a total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all information within the Vulnerable System being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact. For example, an attacker steals the administrator's password, or private encryption keys of a web server.
Vulnerable system integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the vulnerable system. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability: High: There is a total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the Vulnerable System; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Feb 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Total VPN	Affected =0.5.29.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-2542, organizations should first restrict local access to systems running Total VPN to trusted users only, minimizing the risk of local exploitation. Administrators can manually check the installation directory for unquoted paths and rename directories or executables to remove spaces or add quotes in service configurations if possible. Employ application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized executables from running in the search path. Monitor systems for unusual process creation or privilege escalation attempts. Additionally, implement robust endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect exploitation attempts. Regularly audit and harden Windows service configurations to avoid similar unquoted path issues in other software.

Description

A weakness has been identified in Total VPN 0.5.29.0 on Windows. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file C:\Program Files\Total VPN\win-service.exe. Executing a manipulation can lead to unquoted search path. It is possible to launch the attack on the local host. This attack is characterized by high complexity. The exploitation appears to be difficult. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-2542 is local privilege escalation on Windows systems running Total VPN 0.5.29.0. An attacker with low-level access could leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code with higher privileges, potentially gaining control over the system or sensitive VPN configurations. This could lead to unauthorized data access, disruption of VPN services, or further lateral movement within a network. Organizations relying on Total VPN for secure communications may face confidentiality breaches and integrity compromises. The difficulty of exploitation reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate it, especially in environments where local access controls are weak or where attackers have already gained footholds. The absence of vendor response and patches increases the window of exposure, making timely mitigation critical.

Summary

CVE-2026-2542 identifies an unquoted search path vulnerability in Total VPN version 0.5.29.0 on Windows, specifically in the executable located at C:\Program Files\Total VPN\win-service.exe. An unquoted search path occurs when a Windows service or executable path containing spaces is not enclosed in quotes, allowing an attacker to place a malicious executable in a directory earlier in the search order. When the vulnerable service starts, it may inadvertently execute the malicious code. This vulnerability requires local access with low privileges and does not require user interaction, but the attack complexity is high, indicating that exploitation demands significant skill or specific conditions. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability by enabling potential privilege escalation and arbitrary code execution. The vendor was notified but has not responded or issued a patch, leaving systems exposed. No known exploits have been reported in the wild, but the risk remains due to the nature of the vulnerability and the lack of remediation. The CVSS 4.0 score is 7.3 (high), reflecting the potential impact and difficulty of exploitation.

References

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