CVE-2025-20206 Cisco Secure Client for Windows with VPN Posture (HostScan) Module DLL Hijacking Vulnerability
Local attackers with valid credentials can execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges via DLL hijacking if the HostScan module is installed.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2025-20206?
CVE-2025-20206 is a high-severity vulnerability in Cisco Secure Client, published on 5 Mar 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
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.
Weakness: CWE-347
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-20206?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Cisco Secure Client.
How do I fix CVE-2025-20206?
No fix has been published for CVE-2025-20206 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2025-20206 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-20206 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Client
Sources
Also known as GHSA-xq6h-hm2m-hw55.