Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-3556


A vulnerability in the interprocess communication (IPC) channel of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to cause a targeted AnyConnect user to execute a malicious script. The vulnerability is due to a lack of authentication to the IPC listener. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IPC messages to the AnyConnect client IPC listener. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to cause the targeted AnyConnect user to execute a script. This script would execute with the privileges of the targeted AnyConnect user. In order to successfully exploit this vulnerability, there must be an ongoing AnyConnect session by the targeted user at the time of the attack. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would also need valid user credentials on the system upon which the AnyConnect client is being run. Cisco has not released software updates that address this vulnerability.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.3, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from cisco organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2020-11-06T19:15:14.657

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:31:18.510

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.3 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

  • Access Vector: LOCAL
  • Access Complexity: MEDIUM
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
  • Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

3.4

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-20
  • Type: Primary
    NVD-CWE-noinfo

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application cisco anyconnect_secure_mobility_client 4.9\(3052\) Yes
Application cisco anyconnect_secure_mobility_client 98.145\(86\) Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.