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Full vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-3153High confidence

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability

Cisco · AnyConnect Secure

Official source article: Cisco CISCO-SA-AC-WIN-PATH-TRAVERSE-QO4HWBSJ ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.

6.5MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Protect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-11-14 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityMediumOperational priority:Critical, raised 2 bands.upgradedsince 24 Oct 2022

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 28.31% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Cisco AnyConnect Secure and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-24424

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

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.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 24 Oct 2022. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
6.5 · CVSS 3.0
Advisory evidence
1 linked advisory record
Recommended actionProtect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-11-14 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

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

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.

Why

The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

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.

Why

The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-10-24. Known ransomware campaign use is recorded.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Reference recorded

A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.

Likely attack path
local access → Uncontrolled Search Path Element → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-427 ↗

CWE-427: Uncontrolled Search Path Element. The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
CWE-427CISA KEVPublic exploit reference
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-24424Known-exploited evidence recorded

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.

Official EUVD record ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2020-002132Windows 用 Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client における制御されていない検索パスの要素に関する脆弱性

Windows 用 Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client には、制御されていない検索パスの要素に関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5758현재 악용되고 있는 Exploit(Update. 2022-10-24)

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.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Fix not verified
Affected
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client: unspecified < n/a
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 19 Feb 2020 · Last source change 12 Aug 2026, 03:55 UTC · CWE-427 · Uncontrolled Search Path Element

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-24424
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed remediation: knvd.krcert.or.kr/detail?id=635556f0d082fd0d2a52dbe3.
    Before
    remediation: knvd.krcert.or.kr/detail?id=635556f0d082fd0d2a52dbe3 · vendor advisory: tools.cisco.com/cisco-sa-ac-win-path-traverse-qO4HWBsj
    After
    vendor advisory: tools.cisco.com/cisco-sa-ac-win-path-traverse-qO4HWBsj
    tools.cisco.com ↗
  2. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Mitigation available to Awaiting fix.
    Before
    Mitigation available
    After
    Awaiting fix
    tools.cisco.com ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    unspecified < n/a · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client: unspecified < n/a · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
  4. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Mitigation available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Mitigation available
    KISA KrCERT/CC ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-24424↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference · Cisco CISCO-SA-AC-WIN-PATH-TRAVERSE-QO4HWBSJ↗Public exploit reference↗Public exploit reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-3153 · cve.blacktree.nl