Secure DesktopApplication · Cisco

CVE-2006-5393

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2006-10-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Cisco Secure Desktop (CSD) does not require that the ClearPageFileAtShutdown (aka CCE-Winv2.0-407) registry value equals 1, which might allow local users to read certain memory pages that were written during another user's SSL VPN session.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Cisco Secure Desktop (CSD) does not enforce the ClearPageFileAtShutdown Windows registry setting (CCE-Winv2.0-407) to value 1, which controls whether the pagefile is cleared on system shutdown. When this setting is disabled or not set, memory pages containing sensitive data from previous SSL VPN sessions may persist in the pagefile and be readable by local users who gain access to the system.

MitigationConfigure the Windows registry value HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 1, or deploy this setting via Group Policy to ensure pagefile clearing occurs on shutdown after each SSL VPN session.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Secure DesktopApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Cisco Secure Desktop is installed
    Look for the CSD installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Cisco\Cisco Secure Desktop or C:\Program Files (x86)\Cisco\Cisco Secure Desktop) or check for CSD service entry in Windows Services
    Affected if Cisco Secure Desktop software is present on the system
  2. Verify the ClearPageFileAtShutdown registry setting
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\, or run 'reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management" /v ClearPageFileAtShutdown'
    Affected if The ClearPageFileAtShutdown value is missing, set to 0, or does not exist in the registry
  3. Confirm Group Policy is not enforcing the setting
    Run 'gpresult /r' to check applied Group Policy objects, then verify if a policy is setting ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 1 under Computer Configuration/Windows Settings/Security Settings/Local Policies/Security Options or through a domain GPO
    Affected if No Group Policy is applying ClearPageFileAtShutdown = 1 and the registry value is not set to 1

If Cisco Secure Desktop is installed and ClearPageFileAtShutdown is not set to 1 in the registry or via Group Policy, the system is affected by this vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Configure the Windows registry value HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 1, or deploy this setting via Group Policy to ensure pagefile clearing occurs on shutdown after each SSL VPN session.

Fix this in Secure Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2006-5393 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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