CVE-2020-3153
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability is confirmed as actively exploited and is listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA notes
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ac-win-path-traverse-qO4HWBsj; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3153
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.
Severity
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:NExploitation Context
as of October 14, 2026- CISA added CVE-2020-3153 to the KEV catalog 978 days after its CVE record was published.
- It is one of 100 Cisco entries in the CISA KEV catalog, and one of 50 added in 2022.
- Its current EPSS score (28.3%) is higher than that of 40% of CISA KEV entries.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco | Cisco Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client | unspecified to <n/a |
References
5 Links- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157340/Cisco-AnyConnect-Secure-Mobility-Client-4.8.01090-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158219/Cisco-AnyConnect-Path-Traversal-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159420/Cisco-AnyConnect-Privilege-Escalation.html
Record Details
More from Cisco
Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows DLL Hijacking Vulnerability
Cisco HyperFlex HX Command Injection Vulnerabilities
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance Software and Firepower Threat Defense Software Web Services Read-Only Path Traversal Vulnerability
Cisco HyperFlex HX Command Injection Vulnerabilities
Related
Tool categories
CVE record data © The MITRE Corporation, used under the CVE Terms of Use. Exploited-in-the-wild data from the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (CC0). Exploit prediction scores by FIRST EPSS (first.org/epss). This site is not endorsed or certified by MITRE, NVD, CISA, or FIRST.