CVE-2020-8220
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 · uneditedA denial of service vulnerability exists in Pulse Connect Secure <9.1R8 that allows an authenticated attacker to perform command injection via the administrator web which can cause DOS.
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 confidenceA command injection vulnerability in Pulse Connect Secure versions prior to 9.1R8 allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands through the administrator web interface, which can be leveraged to cause denial of service.
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= 9.1<= 9.0= 9.1<= 9.0CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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.
-
Identify the installed product and versionAccess the administrator web interface and navigate to System > Status or System > Configuration to view the product name and version. Alternatively, check the login page footer or the System Information page.Affected if The product is Pulse Connect Secure version 9.1 (any 9.1.x) or version 9.0 or lower, or Pulse Policy Secure version 9.1 or version 9.0 or lower.
-
Confirm admin web interface is enabledNavigate to the administrator login page (typically at /admin) or check System > Admin > Administrators in the web console to verify the admin interface is active.Affected if The administrator web interface is enabled and accessible.
-
Check remote admin access configurationGo to System > Admin > Admin Users or System > Admin > Access Settings in the admin console to see if remote admin access is permitted and from which networks.Affected if Remote administrative access to the web interface is permitted, particularly from untrusted networks.
-
Review system diagnostic informationGenerate and inspect a support information file or view the system diagnostics from the admin console to confirm the exact build version.Affected if The reported version falls within the affected ranges: Ivanti Connect Secure 9.1.x, Pulse Connect Secure 9.0 and below, Ivanti Policy Secure 9.1.x, or Pulse Policy Secure 9.0 and below.
Your environment is affected if you are running any version of Pulse Connect Secure or Pulse Policy Secure that is 9.1 (any 9.1.x) or lower, with the administrator web interface enabled and 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.
From vendor dataUpgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R8 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8220 — 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-2020-8220 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data