CVE-2020-3556
A vulnerability in the interprocess communication (IPC) channel of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to cause a targeted AnyConnect user to execute a malicious script. The vulnerability is due to a lack of authentication to the IPC listener. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted IPC messages to the AnyConnect client IPC listener. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to cause the targeted AnyConnect user to execute a script. This script would execute with the privileges of the targeted AnyConnect user. In order to successfully exploit this vulnerability, there must be an ongoing AnyConnect session by the targeted user at the time of the attack. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker would also need valid user credentials on the system upon which the AnyConnect client is being run. Cisco has not released software updates that address this vulnerability.
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| cisco / anyconnect_secure_mobility_client | 4.9(3052) | 4.9(3052).x |
| cisco / anyconnect_secure_mobility_client | 98.145(86) | 98.145(86).x |
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Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.