HIGH CVSS 7.1
Published: 2025-03-05

CVE-2025-20206

cisco secure_client Security Advisory (CVE-2025-20206)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2025-20206 impacting cisco secure_client. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 7.1 (HIGH).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
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.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local (AV:L)
Requires local system execution permissions
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
Low (PR:L)
Standard user access required
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Unchanged (S:U)
Confined to same security context
Confidentiality
High (C:H)
Total information disclosure
Integrity
High (I:H)
Total modification of target system
Availability
None (A:N)
No system availability impact

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product cisco / secure_client
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-347

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2025-20206 impacting cisco secure_client.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2025-20206.yaml
id: cve-2025-20206

info:
  name: cisco secure_client - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: high
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2025-20206 affecting cisco secure_client.
    Evaluation: A vulnerability in the interprocess communication (IPC) channel of Cisco Secure Client for Windows could allow an authenticated, local attacker to per...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2025-20206
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
    cvss-score: 7.1
    cve-id: CVE-2025-20206
    cwe-id: CWE-347
  tags: cve,cve-2025-20206,cisco,secure_client,high

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "secure_client"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2025-20206.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2025-20206
# Target: cisco secure_client | CVSS: 7.1 (HIGH)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2025-20206 (cisco secure_client)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against cisco secure_client scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2025-20206.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2025-20206
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install secure_client 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade secure_client 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update secure_client

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i secure_client 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i secure_client

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

🔗 Verified Technical References

Authorities
  • No records filed in this category.
Distributions
  • No records filed in this category.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2025-20206 in cisco secure_client?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update cisco secure_client packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2025-20206?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2025-20206?

CVE-2025-20206 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 7.1 (HIGH). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
7.1
HIGH SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2025-20206
Weakness CWE-347
Vendor cisco
Product secure_client
Published 2025-03-05
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N