CVE-2018-20813
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn input validation issue has been found with login_meeting.cgi in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure 8.3RX before 8.3R2.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceAn input validation vulnerability exists in the login_meeting.cgi component of Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure VPN appliances. The insufficient input validation allows an attacker to potentially bypass authentication or execute arbitrary code, resulting in critical severity (CVSS 9.8). The vulnerability affects versions 8.3RX before 8.3R2.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 8.3CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed VPN appliance versionAccess the admin console or check system information page to retrieve the exact version number of Pulse Connect Secure or Ivanti Connect SecureAffected if Version displays as 8.3.x (any 8.3 release before 8.3R2)
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Verify the login_meeting.cgi endpoint existsAttempt to access the /login_meeting.cgi path on the VPN appliance (e.g., https://vpn.example.com/login_meeting.cgi)Affected if The endpoint is reachable and responds without authentication
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Check patch level on version 8.3In the admin interface, navigate to System > Status or System > Maintenance > Software to view the full version string including patch levelAffected if Version shows 8.3 or 8.3R1 (any release prior to 8.3R2)
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Confirm management interface exposureReview network access controls or firewall rules to determine if the VPN admin interface is accessible from untrusted networksAffected if The management interface is exposed to the internet or untrusted networks
The environment is affected if the installed version is 8.3 or 8.3R1 (before 8.3R2) and the login_meeting.cgi component is accessible.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedApply Pulse Secure vendor patch 8.3R2 or later to address the input validation flaw in login_meeting.cgi. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the VPN management interface to trusted networks only.
8.3R2 or later (latest stable 8.3Rx release)
- 1. Back up the current Pulse Connect Secure configuration and settings
- 2. Download the fixed version (8.3R2 or later) from the official Pulse Secure support portal at kb.pulsesecure.net
- 3. Review the upgrade documentation and release notes for any prerequisites
- 4. Apply the upgrade to the Pulse Connect Secure device following the vendor's documented upgrade procedure
- 5. After upgrade completion, verify the system is operational and the login_meeting.cgi functionality is working correctly
- 6. Confirm the version has been updated to 8.3R2 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20813 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-20813 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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