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Anyconnect Secure Mobility ClientApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-9192

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-12-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A vulnerability in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows could allow an authenticated, local attacker to install and execute an arbitrary executable file with privileges equivalent to the Microsoft Windows operating system SYSTEM account. More Information: CSCvb68043. Known Affected Releases: 4.3(2039) 4.3(748). Known Fixed Releases: 4.3(4019) 4.4(225).

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

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows allows an authenticated local attacker to install and execute arbitrary executables with SYSTEM-level privileges. The attacker requires valid Windows credentials but can escalate beyond their assigned privileges through the vulnerable client component.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco AnyConnect Client to version 4.3(4019), 4.4(225), or later. Restrict local system access to trusted users and follow least-privilege principles until patching is complete.

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
Affected:= 3.1\(60\)= 3.1.0= 3.1.02043= 3.1.05182= 3.1.05187= 3.1.06073= 3.1.07021= 4.0\(48\)= 4.0\(64\)= 4.0\(2049\)= 4.0.0= 4.0.00048

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Verify Cisco AnyConnect is installed
    Check for the presence of Cisco AnyConnect by looking in Program Files (typically Program Files\Cisco\Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client) or by running 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Cisco AnyConnect*"}' in PowerShell
    Affected if AnyConnect is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed AnyConnect version
    Locate the main executable (typically vpnui.exe or acvpul.exe) in the AnyConnect installation directory, right-click and select Properties, then view the Details tab for the Product Version
    Affected if Cannot retrieve version information
  3. Compare installed version against affected versions
    Match the installed version string against the following affected versions: 3.1(60), 3.1.0, 3.1.02043, 3.1.05182, 3.1.05187, 3.1.06073, 3.1.07021, 4.0(48), 4.0(64), 4.0(2049), 4.0.0, 4.0.00048
    Affected if The installed version matches any of the listed affected versions exactly
  4. Check if the AnyConnect service runs with elevated privileges
    Open Services (services.msc), locate the Cisco AnyConnect service, right-click and select Properties, and verify the Log On as account setting
    Affected if The service runs under SYSTEM or a high-privilege account (this is the default configuration)

A system is affected if Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client is installed and the installed version matches one of the specific affected versions listed (3.1.x or 4.0.x variants), combined with the default service configuration running with elevated privileges.

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

Upgrade Cisco AnyConnect Client to version 4.3(4019), 4.4(225), or later. Restrict local system access to trusted users and follow least-privilege principles until patching is complete.

Fix this in Anyconnect Secure Mobility Client Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,970
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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-2016-9192 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data