A vulnerability in the interprocess communication (IPC) channel of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform a DLL hijacking attack. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials on the Windows system. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of resources that are loaded by the application at run time. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted IPC message to the AnyConnect process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected machine with SYSTEM privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would need to have valid credentials on the Windows system.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-3433 is rated Critical Active Threat (87.2/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.46%). 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. 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 DLL Hijacking 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 ↗ |
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 | 2026-02-25 | 4.58% | 4.46% | -0.12% |
| 2 | 2026-02-18 | 4.46% | 4.58% | +0.12% |
| 3 | 2025-12-31 | — | 4.46% | — |
Full EPSS history (29 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | 3.1 | HIGH |
|
1.8 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 7.8 | 3.1 | HIGH |
|
1.8 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 7.2 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
3.9 | 10.0 | [email protected] |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| cisco | anyconnect_secure_mobility_client | < 4.9.00086 | cpe:2.3:a:cisco:anyconnect_secure_mobility_client:*:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159420/Cisco-AnyConnect-Privilege-Escalation.html | Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry |
| https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-anyconnect-dll-F26WwJW | Vendor Advisory |
| https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-3433 | US Government Resource |