Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability

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Summary

CVECVE-2020-3153
StatePUBLISHED
Assignercisco
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2020-02-19 20:15:15 UTC
Updated2026-08-12 05:17:29 UTC
DescriptionA 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.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 6.5 MEDIUM from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

EPSS: 0.283070000 probability, percentile 0.981080000 (date 2026-10-20)

CISA KEV: Listed on 2022-10-24; due 2022-11-14; ransomware use Known

Problem Types: CWE-427 | CWE-427 CWE-427

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary6.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
3.0[email protected]Secondary6.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
3.0CNADECLARED6.5MEDIUMCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
2.0[email protected]Primary4.9AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:N

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS v3.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Local
Access Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Complete
Availability
None

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:N

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

VendorCisco
ProductAnyConnect Secure
NameCisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability
Required ActionApply updates per vendor instructions.
Noteshttps://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ac-win-path-traverse-qO4HWBsj; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3153

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Cisco Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client All All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Cisco Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client affected unspecified n/a custom Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
Cisco AnyConnect Privilege Escalation ≈ Packet Storm af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 packetstormsecurity.com Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 tools.cisco.com Vendor Advisory
Full Disclosure: Cisco AnyConnect elevation of privileges due to insecure handling of path names af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 seclists.org Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 www.cisa.gov US Government Resource
Cisco AnyConnect Path Traversal / Privilege Escalation ≈ Packet Storm af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 packetstormsecurity.com Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 4.8.01090 Privilege Escalation ≈ Packet Storm af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 packetstormsecurity.com Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog CISA www.cisa.gov kev

Additional Advisory Data

SourceTimeEvent
ADP2022-10-24T00:00:00.000ZCVE-2020-3153 added to CISA KEV

Exploits

CNA: The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) is not aware of any public announcements or malicious use of the vulnerability that is described in this advisory.

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