{"id":"CVE-2023-20178","aliases":["EUVD-2023-24357","GHSA-6rj9-hcv7-94r5"],"status":"published","title":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software...","description":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software for Windows and Cisco Secure Client Software for Windows could allow a low-privileged, authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to those of SYSTEM. The client update process is executed after a successful VPN connection is established.\r\n\r This vulnerability exists because improper permissions are assigned to a temporary directory that is created during the update process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by abusing a specific function of the Windows installer process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute code with SYSTEM privileges.","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-09","score":0.05374,"percentile":0.92713,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":true,"fix_available":false},"cwes":["CWE-276"],"published":"2023-06-28T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-10-08T22:17:22Z","exploits":[{"source":"pocgithub","id":"Wh04m1001/CVE-2023-20178","title":"Wh04m1001/CVE-2023-20178","date":"2023-06-18","url":"https://github.com/Wh04m1001/CVE-2023-20178"}],"products":[{"vendor":"cisco","product":"anyconnect_secure_mobility_client"},{"vendor":"cisco","product":"cisco secure client"},{"vendor":"cisco","product":"secure_client"}],"references":[{"url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-ac-csc-privesc-wx4U4Kw","tags":["x_transferred","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20178"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6rj9-hcv7-94r5"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2023-20178","description":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software for Windows and Cisco Secure Client Software for Windows could allow a low-privileged, authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to those of SYSTEM. The client update process is executed after a successful VPN connection is established.\r\n\r This vulnerability exists because improper permissions are assigned to a temporary directory that is created during the update process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by abusing a specific function of the Windows installer process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute code with SYSTEM privileges.","status":"published","published":"2023-06-28T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-10-08T21:14:03.615Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"cna"}],"cwes":["CWE-276"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:35:13.368958Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2023-24357","description":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software for Windows and Cisco Secure Client Software for Windows could allow a low-privileged, authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to those of SYSTEM. The client update process is executed after a successful VPN connection is established.\r\n\r This vulnerability exists because improper permissions are assigned to a temporary directory that is created during the update process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by abusing a specific function of the Windows installer process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute code with SYSTEM privileges.","status":"published","published":"2023-06-28T00:00:00Z","modified":"2026-10-08T21:14:03Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T17:27:26.452288Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-6rj9-hcv7-94r5","title":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software...","description":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software for Windows and Cisco Secure Client Software for Windows could allow a low-privileged, authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to those of SYSTEM. The client update process is executed after a successful VPN connection is established. This vulnerability exists because improper permissions are assigned to a temporary directory that is created during the update process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by abusing a specific function of the Windows installer process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute code with SYSTEM privileges.","status":"published","published":"2023-06-28T15:30:23Z","modified":"2023-11-07T05:06:38Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.0","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-276"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:54:53.779138Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2023-20178","description":"A vulnerability in the client update process of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software for Windows and Cisco Secure Client Software for Windows could allow a low-privileged, authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges to those of SYSTEM. The client update process is executed after a successful VPN connection is established.\r\n\r This vulnerability exists because improper permissions are assigned to a temporary directory that is created during the update process. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by abusing a specific function of the Windows installer process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute code with SYSTEM privileges.","status":"published","published":"2023-06-28T15:15:09.88Z","modified":"2026-10-08T22:17:22.42Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-276"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:08:14.715708Z"}]}}