SYSTEM code execution via crafted IPC message
Published Mar 5, 2025 · Updated Feb 26, 2026
DLL hijacking in Cisco Secure Client before 5.1.8.105 allows local users to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. The Windows IPC channel accepts a crafted message that causes a Secure Client process to load runtime resources without sufficiently validating them. Valid local credentials and an installed Secure Firewall Posture Engine are required; successful exploitation compromises system confidentiality and integrity without a reported service interruption.
Summary
What happened
DLL hijacking in Cisco Secure Client before 5.1.8.105 allows local users to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. The Windows IPC channel accepts a crafted message that causes a Secure Client process to load runtime resources without sufficiently validating them. Valid local credentials and an installed Secure Firewall Posture Engine are required; successful exploitation compromises system confidentiality and integrity without a reported service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-20206
- Published
- Mar 5, 2025
- Updated
- Feb 26, 2026
- Vendor
- ClamAV
- Product
- Cisco Secure Client
- Classifications
- CWE-347, T1574
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 5, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 26, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.10.00093
- Affected versionversion=4.10.01075
- Affected versionversion=4.10.02086
- Affected versionversion=4.10.03104
- Affected versionversion=4.10.04065
- Affected versionversion=4.10.04071
- Affected versionversion=4.10.05085
- Affected versionversion=4.10.05095
- Affected versionversion=4.10.05111
- Affected versionversion=4.10.06079
- Affected versionversion=4.10.06090
- Affected versionversion=4.10.07061
- Affected versionversion=4.10.07062
- Affected versionversion=4.10.07073
- Affected versionversion=4.10.08025
- Affected versionversion=4.10.08029
- Affected versionversion=4.9.00086
- Affected versionversion=4.9.01095
- Affected versionversion=4.9.02028
- Affected versionversion=4.9.03047
- Affected versionversion=4.9.03049
- Affected versionversion=4.9.04043
- Affected versionversion=4.9.04053
- Affected versionversion=4.9.05042
- Affected versionversion=4.9.06037
- Affected versionversion=5.0.00238
- Affected versionversion=5.0.00529
- Affected versionversion=5.0.00556
- Affected versionversion=5.0.01242
- Affected versionversion=5.0.02075
- Affected versionversion=5.0.03072
- Affected versionversion=5.0.03076
- Affected versionversion=5.0.04032
- Affected versionversion=5.0.05040
- Affected versionversion=5.1.0.136
- Affected versionversion=5.1.1.42
- Affected versionversion=5.1.2.42
- Affected versionversion=5.1.3.62
- Affected versionversion=5.1.4.74
- Affected versionversion=5.1.5.65
- Affected versionversion=5.1.6.103
- Affected versionversion=5.1.7.80
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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