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.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-3153 is rated Critical Active Threat (88.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 28.31%, 98th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-10-24) affecting Cisco / AnyConnect Secure. a weakness (CWE-427) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. EPSS rose +3.22% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
: Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail
: 2022-10-24
: 2022-11-14
: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
| EDB-ID | Source | Kind | Published | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | nvd_ref | exploit_tag | Exploit-DB ↗ | |
| — | nvd_ref | exploit_tag | Exploit-DB ↗ | |
| — | nvd_ref | exploit_tag | Exploit-DB ↗ | |
| — | nvd_ref | exploit_tag | Exploit-DB ↗ |
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-06-15 | 25.09% | 28.31% | +3.22% |
| 2 | 2025-12-11 | 28.35% | 25.09% | -3.26% |
| 3 | 2025-11-21 | — | 28.35% | — |
Full EPSS history (26 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | 3.1 | MEDIUM |
|
2.0 | 4.0 | [email protected] |
| 6.5 | 3.0 | MEDIUM |
|
2.0 | 4.0 | [email protected] |
| 4.9 | 2.0 | MEDIUM |
|
3.9 | 6.9 | [email protected] |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| cisco | anyconnect_secure_mobility_client | < 4.8.02042 | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:anyconnect_secure_mobility_client:*:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157340/Cisco-AnyConnect-Secure-Mobility-Client-4.8.01090-Privilege-Escalation.html | Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158219/Cisco-AnyConnect-Path-Traversal-Privilege-Escalation.html | Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159420/Cisco-AnyConnect-Privilege-Escalation.html | Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Apr/43 | Exploit Mailing List Third Party Advisory |
| https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ac-win-path-traverse-qO4HWBsj | Vendor Advisory |
| https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-3153 | US Government Resource |