Anyconnect Secure Mobility ClientApplication · Cisco
CVE-2015-4289
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 4.0(2049) allows remote head-end systems to write to arbitrary files via a crafted configuration attribute, aka Bug ID CSCut93920.
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 confidenceDirectory traversal vulnerability in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 4.0(2049) allows a malicious or compromised remote head-end VPN server to send crafted configuration attributes containing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../'), enabling arbitrary file write on the client system with the privileges of the VPN client process.
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
= 4.0\(2049\)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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P
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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Confirm Cisco AnyConnect installationLocate the Cisco AnyConnect client software on the system - typically found in Program Files or Program Files (x86) folder, or check installed programs listAffected if Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is present on the system
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Identify installed versionCheck the version of the AnyConnect client software - right-click the client executable, view properties, or check Add/Remove Programs for the version detailsAffected if The installed version is exactly 4.0(2049)
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Determine client usage and configuration sourcesReview recent VPN connection history and identify which VPN servers/head-ends the client has connected to, as the attack requires a malicious or compromised remote server sending crafted configurationAffected if The client has connected to untrusted or unknown VPN head-end servers while running version 4.0(2049)
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Check for unexpected configuration filesInspect the AnyConnect configuration directories for any recently created or modified configuration files that may have been written via path traversal (look for files in unexpected locations outside the normal config paths)Affected if Configuration files appear in directories outside the expected AnyConnect configuration path
The environment is affected if Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client version 4.0(2049) is installed and has been used to connect to VPN servers, as the vulnerability is triggered by receiving crafted configuration attributes from a malicious remote head-end.
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 dataUpdate Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client to the latest version that addresses CSCut93920. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict trusted head-end servers and monitor for unexpected configuration pushes.
Fix this in Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4289 — 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-2015-4289 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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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