dbcve.org
Secure ClientApplication · Cisco

CVE-2025-20206

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.1.8.105 or later.
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 the interprocess communication (IPC) channel of Cisco Secure Client for Windows could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform a DLL hijacking attack on an affected device if the Secure Firewall Posture Engine, formerly HostScan, is installed on Cisco Secure Client. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of resources that are loaded by the application at run time. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted IPC message to a specific Cisco Secure Client process. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected machine with SYSTEM privileges. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must have valid user credentials on the Windows system.

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 Client for Windows contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability in its interprocess communication channel when the Secure Firewall Posture Engine (HostScan) is installed. An authenticated local attacker can send crafted IPC messages to a specific Cisco Secure Client process, causing the application to load a malicious DLL and execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationApply the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict local user privileges where possible and monitor for suspicious DLL loading activity by Cisco Secure Client processes.

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 ClientApplication
Affected:< 5.1.8.105

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:3.1/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 Secure Client installation
    Check for Cisco Secure Client in Windows installed programs (Programs and Features) or look for its installation directory under Program Files or Program Files (x86).
    Affected if Cisco Secure Client is installed on the system.
  2. Check installed version against affected range
    Locate the installed version of Cisco Secure Client - typically found in the program entry in Programs and Features, or check version info on the main executable file in the Cisco Secure Client installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 5.1.8.105.
  3. Confirm Secure Firewall Posture Engine (HostScan) is present
    Check if the HostScan module is installed as part of Cisco Secure Client - this is typically listed as a separate component or feature within the Cisco Secure Client suite.
    Affected if HostScan (Secure Firewall Posture Engine) is installed as a component of Cisco Secure Client.
  4. Identify vulnerable IPC process
    Look for running Cisco Secure Client processes that handle interprocess communication, particularly processes related to HostScan or posture assessment functionality.
    Affected if A Cisco Secure Client process handling IPC is running with elevated privileges.
  5. Check for DLL loading indicators
    Monitor or inspect the DLLs being loaded by Cisco Secure Client processes, particularly in directories writable by non-privileged users.
    Affected if Cisco Secure Client processes are loading DLLs from locations accessible to low-privilege users.

A system is affected if Cisco Secure Client version is below 5.1.8.105 AND the Secure Firewall Posture Engine (HostScan) component is installed, allowing an authenticated local attacker to exploit the IPC channel for DLL hijacking.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.1.8.105 or later
Fixed in 5.1.8.105
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict local user privileges where possible and monitor for suspicious DLL loading activity by Cisco Secure Client processes.

Recommended fix High confidence

5.1.8.105 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Cisco Secure Client installed on the Windows system by checking the installed programs or using the software's version information
  2. 2. If the installed version is lower than 5.1.8.105, obtain and install Cisco Secure Client version 5.1.8.105 or later from official Cisco sources
  3. 3. After installation, verify that the Secure Firewall Posture Engine (formerly HostScan) component is properly functioning
  4. 4. Confirm the installed version is now 5.1.8.105 or higher

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Secure Client Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20206 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-20206 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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