Thursday, April 17, 2025
HomeCiscoCisco AnyConnect VPN zero-day Vulnerability, Exploit Code Available

Cisco AnyConnect VPN zero-day Vulnerability, Exploit Code Available

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

Cisco, the California based tech giant, has identified and disclosed a vulnerability via advisory CVE-2020-3556, regarding the InterProcess Communication (IPC) channel of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software that would allow an authenticated, local attacker to cause a targeted AnyConnect user to execute a malicious script.

Vulnerability

The IPC channel of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software can allow an authenticated attacker to make an AnyConnect user to execute harmful scripts without his knowledge.

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 and can cause the targeted AnyConnect user to execute a script. This script would execute with the privileges of the targeted AnyConnect user.

- Advertisement - Google News

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.

Products Affected

The vulnerability affects all versions of the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software with a vulnerable configuration for the below mentioned platforms:

  • AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Linux
  • AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for MacOS
  • AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows

All other products do not seem to have been affected by this vulnerability.

Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team confirmed that proof-of-concept exploit code is available for the vulnerability described in this advisory.

Mitigation

Cisco has not yet released any software updates to counter this vulnerability and states that there are no workarounds to handle CVE-2020—3556, however, the threat can be mitigated by disabling the Auto Update feature.

In the instance that the Auto-update feature cannot be disabled, disabling the Enable Scripting configuration setting would reduce the surface attack. By default, Auto Update is enabled, and Enable Scripting is disabled.

To check these settings on the Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) the below path can be followed Configuration> Remote Access VPN > Network (Client) Access > AnyConnect Client Profile.

Way forward

Cisco plans to fix this vulnerability in a future release of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software and will shortly release free software updates to address and fix this vulnerability, and customers may download and install the same for the versions that they are using.

Cisco has credited Gerbert Roitburd from Secure Mobile Networking Lab (TU Darmstadt), with reporting the vulnerability.

You can follow us on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook for daily Cybersecurity and hacking news updates.

Also Read

Infamous Maze Ransomware Operators Shuts Down Operations

Vermont Hospitals Now Latest Victim of Ransomware Attacks

Gurubaran
Gurubaran
Gurubaran is a co-founder of Cyber Security News and GBHackers On Security. He has 10+ years of experience as a Security Consultant, Editor, and Analyst in cybersecurity, technology, and communications.

Latest articles

Ransomware Attacks Surge 126%, Targeting Consumer Goods and Services Sector

The cybersecurity landscape witnessed a dramatic escalation in ransomware attacks, marking a concerning trend...

CrazyHunter Hacker Group Exploits Open-Source GitHub Tools to Target Organizations

A relatively new ransomware outfit known as CrazyHunter has emerged as a significant threat,...

Threat Actors Leverage Cascading Shadows Attack Chain to Evade Detection and Hinder Analysis

A sophisticated multi-layered phishing campaign was uncovered, employing a complex attack chain known as...

Microsoft Vulnerabilities Reach Record High with Over 1,300 Reported in 2024

The 12th Edition of the Microsoft Vulnerabilities Report has revealed a significant surge in...

Resilience at Scale

Why Application Security is Non-Negotiable

The resilience of your digital infrastructure directly impacts your ability to scale. And yet, application security remains a critical weak link for most organizations.

Application Security is no longer just a defensive play—it’s the cornerstone of cyber resilience and sustainable growth. In this webinar, Karthik Krishnamoorthy (CTO of Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface), will share how AI-powered application security can help organizations build resilience by

Discussion points


Protecting at internet scale using AI and behavioral-based DDoS & bot mitigation.
Autonomously discovering external assets and remediating vulnerabilities within 72 hours, enabling secure, confident scaling.
Ensuring 100% application availability through platforms architected for failure resilience.
Eliminating silos with real-time correlation between attack surface and active threats for rapid, accurate mitigation

More like this

A Seven‑Year‑Old Cisco Flaw Now Lets Hackers Execute Code Remotely on Network Gear

A Cisco’s Smart Install protocol (CVE-2018-0171), first patched in 2018, remains a pervasive threat...

CISA Warns of Cisco Smart Licensing Utility Credential Flaw Exploited in Attacks

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a security advisory warning organizations...

Cisco Webex for BroadWorks Flaw Opens Door for Attackers to Access Credentials

Cisco Systems has disclosed a security vulnerability in its Webex for BroadWorks unified communications...