Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-34788


A vulnerability in the shared library loading mechanism of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Linux and Mac OS could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform a shared library hijacking attack on an affected device if the VPN Posture (HostScan) Module is installed on the AnyConnect client. This vulnerability is due to a race condition in the signature verification process for shared library files that are loaded on an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a series of crafted interprocess communication (IPC) messages to the AnyConnect process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device with root privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have a valid account on the system.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.0, requiring local system access to exploit but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from cisco, from apple, from linux organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2021, 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

2021-10-06T20:15:19.173

Last Modified

2024-11-21T06:11:12.287

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.0 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

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

3.4

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-367
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-367

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application cisco anyconnect_secure_mobility_client < 4.10.03104 Yes
Operating System apple macos - No
Operating System linux linux_kernel - No

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.