Cisco · AnyConnect Secure
CVE-2020-3153
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability
What it is
A vulnerability in the installer component of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows could allow an authenticated local attacker to copy user-supplied files to system level directories with system level privileges. The vulnerability is due to the incorrect handling of directory paths. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a malicious file and copying the file to a system directory. An exploit could allow the attacker to copy malicious files to arbitrary locations with system level privileges. This could include DLL pre-loading, DLL hijacking, and other related attacks. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker needs valid credentials on the Windows system.
CISA: Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows allows for incorrect handling of directory paths. An attacker with valid credentials on Windows would be able to copy malicious files to arbitrary locations with system level privileges. This could include DLL pre-loading, DLL hijacking, and other related attacks.
What to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Deadline for US federal agencies: November 14, 2022
- Added to the CISA list
- October 24, 2022
- Published
- February 19, 2020
- Severity
- Medium 6.5 CVSS 3.0
- Chance of attacks in the next 30 days (EPSS)
- 28% in the top 1.9% of all known vulnerabilities
- Weakness
- CWE-427
- More details
- NVD · CVE.org · CISA
All references (5)
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ac-win-path-traverse-qO4HWBsj
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Apr/43
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157340/Cisco-AnyConnect-Secure-Mobility-Client-4.8.01090-Privilege-Escal…
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158219/Cisco-AnyConnect-Path-Traversal-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159420/Cisco-AnyConnect-Privilege-Escalation.html
More exploited flaws from Cisco
| Added | Vulnerability | Product | Severity | Attack chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2022 | Mobility Client for Windows DLL Hijacking | AnyConnect Secure | High 7.8 | 10% |
| Oct 14, 2026 | Relative Path Traversal | Secure Email Gateway | Critical 9.8 | 2.2% |
| Sep 30, 2026 | Hex Encoding | Catalyst SD-WAN Manager | Critical 9.8 | 39% |
| Sep 16, 2026 | Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs | Identity Services Engine | Critical 10.0 | 76% |
| Sep 14, 2026 | SQL Injection | Secure Email Gateway | Critical 9.8 | 30% |
| Sep 9, 2026 | Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel | Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) and Security Cloud Control (SCC) Firewall Management | Critical 10.0 | 88% |
| Aug 11, 2026 | Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) Heap Inspection | Secure Firewall Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) and Secure Firewall Threat Defense (FTD) | High 8.6 | 1.0% |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Secure Firewall Management Center Use of Hard-coded Password | Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) | Medium 5.3 | 35% |
Sources: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA, public domain), CVE records (cve.org) and EPSS (FIRST). The chance of attacks is the EPSS estimate that someone will try to exploit the flaw in the next 30 days.