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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
Connect SecureApplication · Ivanti

CVE-2020-8260

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R9 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to perform an arbitrary code execution using uncontrolled gzip extraction.

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 · high confidence

A vulnerability in Pulse Connect Secure versions before 9.1R9 in the admin web interface allows an authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code via uncontrolled gzip extraction, likely a zip slip or path traversal during archive decompression.

MitigationUpgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R9 or later. Restrict admin interface access to authorized personnel only until the upgrade is applied.

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
Connect SecureApplication
Affected:<= 9.0= 9.1

CVSS 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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Pulse Connect Secure version
    Access the admin web interface and locate the version information, typically found on the login page footer or under System > Status in the management console. If CLI access is available, use the appropriate show command to retrieve the firmware version.
    Affected if Version is 9.1R8 or earlier, or any 9.0.x version, or any 9.1 release prior to 9.1R9 (the version is vulnerable if it falls within the <= 9.0 or = 9.1 range)
  2. Confirm admin web interface is enabled and accessible
    Verify the admin web interface service is running and reachable. Check which ports are listening (commonly 443 or 4433) and review network accessibility through firewall rules or access control lists.
    Affected if The admin web interface is exposed and accessible to network segments where potential attackers reside
  3. Check if archive extraction features are in use
    Review the system configuration for any enabled features that handle compressed file uploads or imports, particularly in the context of the admin interface. Look for certificate imports, template uploads, or other functions that process gzip or zip archives.
    Affected if Archive extraction functionality (gzip/zip handling) is enabled and accessible through the admin interface

The environment is affected if the installed Pulse Connect Secure version is 9.1R8 or earlier (or any 9.0.x/9.1 version without the R9 patch) AND the admin web interface with archive extraction capabilities is accessible to authenticated users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R9 or later. Restrict admin interface access to authorized personnel only until the upgrade is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pulse Connect Secure 9.1R9 or later

  1. 1. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
  2. 2. Backup the current Pulse Connect Secure configuration using the admin interface or CLI
  3. 3. Download Pulse Connect Secure 9.1R9 or later from the official Pulse Secure support portal (kb.pulsesecure.net)
  4. 4. Access the admin web interface and navigate to the System > Configuration > Software > Software Update section
  5. 5. Upload and install the 9.1R9 or later firmware file
  6. 6. After installation, reboot the device as prompted
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the firmware version in the admin interface under System > Status
  8. 8. Test critical functionality including VPN connections and admin access
Caveat Review release notes for 9.1R9 for any configuration or behavioral changes before upgrading; ensure compatibility with dependent systems

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Connect Secure Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-8260 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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