CVE-2015-0664 in AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Summary
by MITRE
The IPC channel in Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client 4.0(.00051) and earlier allows local users to write to arbitrary userspace memory locations, and consequently gain privileges, via crafted messages, aka Bug ID CSCus79195.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/15/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-0664 resides within the IPC (Inter-Process Communication) channel implementation of Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client version 4.0(.00051) and earlier releases. This flaw represents a critical security weakness that enables local attackers to manipulate memory locations within the client application, potentially leading to privilege escalation and unauthorized system access. The vulnerability specifically affects the communication mechanisms used by the AnyConnect client to interact with other processes and system components, creating an attack surface that can be exploited by malicious actors with local system access.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the IPC channel handler. When the AnyConnect client receives crafted messages through its inter-process communication interface, it fails to properly validate the message structure and content before processing them. This lack of proper sanitization allows an attacker to construct malicious messages that can overwrite arbitrary memory locations in the userspace memory of the running AnyConnect process. The flaw essentially creates a memory corruption vulnerability where attacker-controlled data can be written to memory addresses chosen by the malicious actor, bypassing normal access controls and privilege boundaries.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-0664 is severe and multifaceted, particularly within enterprise environments where Cisco AnyConnect is widely deployed for remote access and VPN connectivity. Local privilege escalation through this vulnerability means that any user with access to the system can potentially elevate their privileges to that of the system administrator or root user, depending on the operating system. This creates a significant risk for organizations as it allows attackers to gain unauthorized access to sensitive network resources, compromise endpoint security, and potentially establish persistent access to the network infrastructure. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in environments where the AnyConnect client runs with elevated privileges or where users have legitimate access to systems running the vulnerable software.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-121, which describes stack-based buffer overflow conditions, and CWE-787, which addresses out-of-bounds write errors, as the flaw manifests through improper memory handling during IPC message processing. From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability maps to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers 'Exploitation for Privilege Escalation', and T1059, covering 'Command and Scripting Interpreter', as attackers can leverage the privilege escalation to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges. The attack vector requires local system access, making it a low-barrier entry point for attackers who have already gained access to a target system through other means such as phishing attacks or credential theft, allowing them to escalate their access and maintain persistence within the network.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches released by Cisco for this vulnerability. The recommended approach involves upgrading to Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client version 4.0(.00052) or later, which contains the necessary fixes to address the IPC channel memory handling issues. Additionally, system administrators should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit local user access to systems running the AnyConnect client, particularly in environments where privilege escalation could lead to significant security breaches. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining instances of the vulnerable software within the organization's infrastructure, and monitoring should be implemented to detect suspicious IPC communication patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.