Pulse Secure Desktop ClientApplication · Pulsesecure
CVE-2020-8263
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 vulnerability in the authenticated user web interface of Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R9 could allow attackers to conduct Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) through the CGI file.
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 confidenceThis is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the authenticated user web interface of Pulse Connect Secure VPN appliances. The vulnerability exists in the CGI file component and affects all versions prior to 9.1R9. An authenticated attacker could inject malicious JavaScript code through the vulnerable parameter, which would execute in the context of other users' sessions.
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
Pulse Secure Desktop ClientApplication
< 9.1= 9.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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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Locate Pulse Connect Secure version in admin UILog into the Pulse Connect Secure admin web interface and navigate to System > Status or Dashboard to view the installed firmware versionAffected if version displayed is below 9.1R9 (for example, 9.0.x, 9.1R8, or earlier)
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Check version via command lineAccess the device console or SSH and run the command to display system version information, such as 'dsregcmd -v' or the vendor-provided version commandAffected if reported version is below 9.1R9
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Confirm the CGI web component is accessibleVerify that the Pulse Connect Secure web interface (CGI endpoints) is exposed and reachable, typically on ports 443 or 8443Affected if the unauthenticated or authenticated web portal is accessible to users
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Identify authenticated user accessReview whether user accounts with access to the web interface exist, as the XSS requires an authenticated session to triggerAffected if any non-restricted user accounts have access to the authenticated web portal
If the installed Pulse Connect Secure version is any release prior to 9.1R9 and the authenticated web interface is accessible, the environment is affected by CVE-2020-8263.
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 data9.1
Upgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R9 or later to remediate this vulnerability. As a temporary measure, consider restricting administrative access to trusted IP ranges and implementing Content Security Policy headers.
Fix this in Pulse Secure Desktop Client
Scoped from the published advisory
- 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-2020-8263 — 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-2020-8263 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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