CVE-2020-3153 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the installer component of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows. The flaw is caused by incorrect handling of directory paths, allowing an authenticated local attacker to cause user-supplied files to be copied into arbitrary system-level directories while the installer operates with SYSTEM privileges. By placing attacker-controlled files in privileged locations, an attacker can leverage follow-on techniques such as DLL preloading or DLL hijacking to execute code in a higher-privileged context.
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What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
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2 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a single Metasploit module (anyconnect_lpe.rb) that exploits two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities (CVE-2020-3153 and CVE-2020-3433) in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows. The exploit targets the installer component, which is vulnerable to path traversal and DLL hijacking, allowing a local attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges. The module communicates with the Cisco AnyConnect agent via a local TCP IPC endpoint (127.0.0.1:62522), crafts a malicious command, and drops a payload DLL (dbghelp.dll) to a writable location. The vulnerable service then loads the attacker's DLL as SYSTEM, resulting in arbitrary code execution. The module is weaponized, supporting customizable Metasploit payloads (default: meterpreter/reverse_tcp), and is suitable for post-exploitation scenarios where the attacker already has local access. The code is well-structured, leverages Metasploit's file dropping and privilege escalation utilities, and provides cleanup routines for artifacts left on disk.
This repository contains a working privilege escalation exploit for CVE-2020-3153, targeting Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Windows (versions prior to 4.8.02042). The exploit is implemented in C# and leverages a path traversal vulnerability in the auto-update process. The main exploit logic is in 'CVE-2020-3153/Program.cs', which embeds a malicious dbghelp.dll as a Base64 string. The exploit writes this DLL to a system directory and abuses the auto-update mechanism to have a signed Cisco binary (vpndownloader.exe) load the attacker's DLL, resulting in a SYSTEM shell. The exploit communicates locally with the vpnagent.exe process over TCP port 62522. The repository includes supporting files for building and running the exploit, as well as detailed documentation and sequence diagrams explaining the attack flow. The exploit is operational and provides a SYSTEM shell if successful, but requires local access and valid credentials on a vulnerable Windows system.
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
4 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.
No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.