Anyconnect Secure Mobility ClientApplication · Cisco
CVE-2015-4211
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 · uneditedCisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 3.1(60) on Windows does not properly validate pathnames, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted INF file, aka Bug ID CSCus65862.
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 confidenceCisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 3.1(60) on Windows contains a pathname validation flaw that allows a local authenticated user to craft a malicious INF file and escalate privileges to SYSTEM level access.
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
Anyconnect Secure Mobility ClientApplication
= 3.1\(60\)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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed AnyConnect versionOpen Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cisco Systems, Inc.\AnyConnect, or run 'vpnclient.exe -version' from the AnyConnect installation directory, or check Add/Remove Programs for Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility ClientAffected if The installed version is exactly 3.1(60)
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Verify authenticated user contextConfirm the user checking for this vulnerability is a local authenticated user on the Windows system (not a domain admin or system account)Affected if The checking user is a standard local user account that is not running with elevated privileges
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Check write access to AnyConnect installation directoryRight-click the AnyConnect installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\Cisco\Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client or C:\Program Files (x86)\Cisco\Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client), select Properties, go to the Security tab, and verify if standard users have Write or Modify permissionsAffected if Authenticated local users have Write or Modify permissions to the AnyConnect installation directory
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Check write access to INF file locationsLocate common INF file directories such as C:\Windows\INF and C:\Windows\System32\drivers. Right-click each folder, check Properties > Security to see if standard users have Write permissions to these locationsAffected if Authenticated users can write to Windows INF directories where malicious INF files could be placed
The environment is affected if Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client version 3.1(60) is installed AND the authenticated user has write access to the AnyConnect installation directory or INF file locations.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the Cisco patch for bug ID CSCus65862 (upgrade to a patched version of AnyConnect). As a compensating control, restrict write access to the AnyConnect installation directory and INF file locations to privileged administrators only.
Fix this in Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4211 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-4211 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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