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CVE-2026-76462: Improper Input Validation in Cisco Cisco Secure Client

0
Medium
VulnerabilityCVE-2026-76462cvecve-2026-76462
Published: 10/21/2026 (10/21/2026, 16:14:19 UTC)
Source: CVE Database V5
Vendor/Project: Cisco
Product: Cisco Secure Client

Description

A vulnerability in the interprocess communication (IPC) channel of the Secure Firewall Posture module in Cisco Secure Client could allow an authenticated, local attacker to elevate privileges on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of user-supplied input. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a series of crafted IPC messages to a local socket. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to perform limited file write operations on the filesystem with SYSTEM or root privileges. Although this vulnerability affects the Secure Firewall Posture module in Cisco Secure Client on Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems, this vulnerability could be used to obtain full root privileges on macOS and Linux. For that reason Cisco has assigned this security advisory a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of High rather than Medium as the score indicates.

CVSS v3.1

Score 5.5medium

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Affected software

Cisco

Cisco Secure Client

Affected versions
=4.9.00086=4.9.01095=4.9.02028=4.9.03047=4.9.03049=4.9.04043=4.9.04053=4.9.05042=4.9.06037=4.10.00093=4.10.01075=4.10.02086=4.10.03104=4.10.04065=4.10.04071=4.10.05085=4.10.05095=5.0.00238=4.10.05111=5.0.00529=5.0.00556=4.10.06079=5.0.01242=4.10.06090=5.0.02075=4.10.07061=5.0.03072=4.10.07062=5.0.03076=5.0.04032=4.10.07073=5.0.05040=5.1.0.136=5.1.1.42=4.10.08025=5.1.2.42=4.10.08029=5.1.3.62=5.1.4.74=5.1.5.65=5.1.6.103=5.1.7.80=5.1.8.105=5.1.8.122=5.1.9.113=5.1.10.233=5.1.11.388=5.1.12.146=5.1.13.117=5.1.13.177=5.1.14.145=5.1.15.287=5.1.16.194=5.1.17.3382=5.1.17.3394=5.1.18.314=5.1.19.1862
GitHub Actionsmore threats →ai
cisco/secure-client
pkg:github/cisco/secure-client
Affected versions
=4.9.00086=4.9.01095=4.9.02028=4.9.03047=4.9.03049=4.9.04043=4.9.04053=4.9.05042=4.9.06037=4.10.00093=4.10.01075=4.10.02086=4.10.03104=4.10.04065=4.10.04071=4.10.05085=4.10.05095=5.0.00238=4.10.05111=5.0.00529=5.0.00556=4.10.06079=5.0.01242=4.10.06090=5.0.02075=4.10.07061=5.0.03072=4.10.07062=5.0.03076=5.0.04032=4.10.07073=5.0.05040=5.1.0.136=5.1.1.42=4.10.08025=5.1.2.42=4.10.08029=5.1.3.62=5.1.4.74=5.1.5.65=5.1.6.103=5.1.7.80=5.1.8.105=5.1.8.122=5.1.9.113=5.1.10.233=5.1.11.388=5.1.12.146=5.1.13.117=5.1.13.177=5.1.14.145=5.1.15.287=5.1.16.194=5.1.17.3382=5.1.17.3394=5.1.18.314=5.1.19.1862

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AI-Powered Analysis

Machine-generated threat intelligence

AILast updated: 10/21/2026, 16:46:57 UTC

Technical Analysis

This vulnerability arises from improper input validation in the IPC channel of the Secure Firewall Posture module in Cisco Secure Client. An authenticated local attacker can exploit this by sending crafted IPC messages to a local socket, resulting in limited file write operations with elevated privileges. On macOS and Linux, this can lead to full root privilege escalation. The vulnerability affects numerous specific versions of Cisco Secure Client on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N, reflecting local attack vector, low complexity, required privileges, no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality impact, high integrity impact, and no availability impact.

Potential Impact

An authenticated local attacker can exploit this vulnerability to perform limited file write operations with SYSTEM or root privileges on affected devices. On macOS and Linux, the attacker could gain full root privileges. There is no confidentiality or availability impact reported. The vulnerability is rated medium severity by CVSS but Cisco assigns a high security impact rating due to the potential for full root access on Unix-like systems.

Mitigation Recommendations

Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. No official fix or patch links are provided in the available data. Until a patch is available, restrict local authenticated access to trusted users only to mitigate exploitation risk.

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Technical Details

Data Version
5.2
Assigner Short Name
cisco
Date Reserved
2026-08-19T12:02:03.637Z
Cvss Version
3.1
State
PUBLISHED

Threat ID: 6ad8e8d44d27ba8daac3b6c0

Added to database: 10/21/2026, 16:31:16 UTC

Last enriched: 10/21/2026, 16:46:57 UTC

Last updated: 10/21/2026, 17:46:16 UTC

Views: 8

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