October 24, 2022 · Applied Cybernetics Group
CVE-2020-3153 — Cisco AnyConnect Secure
known ransomware use
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability
- Added to KEV
2022-10-24- Federal due date
2022-11-14- Vendor
- Cisco
- Product
- AnyConnect Secure
- EPSS
- 98.0th percentile (score 0.283, as of
2026-09-16) - NVD CVSS v3.1
- 6.5 (MEDIUM)
- Ransomware use
- Known
- Upstream
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3153
CISA short description
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.
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
NVD description
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.