Sunshine: Unquoted Search Path or Element
CVE-2025-54081 is a high-severity unquoted search path or element vulnerability in Sunshine from LizardByte, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Sunshine versions: < 2025.923.33222. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.23% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of Sunshine you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
- Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| LizardByte | Sunshine | < 2025.923.33222 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 6.7 | Medium | CNA (github.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.0 | High | NVD |
Official description
Sunshine is a self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight. Prior to version 2025.923.33222, the Windows service SunshineService is installed with an unquoted executable path. If Sunshine is installed in a directory whose name includes a space, the Service Control Manager (SCM) interprets the path incrementally and may execute a malicious binary placed earlier in the search string. This issue has been patched in version 2025.923.33222.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Unquoted Search Path or Element
The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access resources in a parent path.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Properly quote the full search path before executing a program on the system.
- Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
More Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerabilities (CWE-428)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
Other vulnerabilities in Sunshine
- 7.6 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.1 High severity
Recent Unquoted Search Path or Element vulnerabilities
- 8.4 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
- 7.3 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
- 9.2 Critical severity
- 7.3 High severity
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