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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-2021-22899

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 command injection vulnerability exists in Pulse Connect Secure before 9.1R11.4 allows a remote authenticated attacker to perform remote code execution via Windows Resource Profiles Feature

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 command injection vulnerability in Pulse Connect Secure's Windows Resource Profiles Feature allows authenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary system commands by injecting malicious input that is processed without proper sanitization, leading to full remote code execution on the affected device.

MitigationUpgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R11.4 or later, which contains the patch for this command injection vulnerability in the Windows Resource Profiles component.

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 Pulse Connect Secure or Ivanti Connect Secure installation
    Locate the application on the Windows server. Check for installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Pulse Connect Secure or similar), or query running services for 'Pulse' or 'Connect Secure' processes.
    Affected if The product is installed and running on the server
  2. Determine installed version
    Check the version of the installed Pulse Connect Secure or Ivanti Connect Secure. This is typically visible in the admin web interface login page, or in the Windows 'Add or Remove Programs' list, or check version file in the installation directory.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 9.0 or exactly 9.1 (these are the only affected versions listed)
  3. Confirm Windows Resource Profiles feature is in use
    Log into the admin interface and navigate to the Resource Profiles section (typically under Users > Resource Profiles or similar path). Check if any Windows resource profiles have been created and configured.
    Affected if Windows Resource Profiles are configured and active on the appliance
  4. Verify authentication access
    Review user accounts that have access to the Pulse Connect Secure admin console or the resource profile configuration functionality. Check for any accounts with permissions to create or modify resource profiles.
    Affected if There are authenticated users with access to resource profile management features

You are affected only if you have exactly version 9.0 or 9.1 installed AND the Windows Resource Profiles feature is configured AND an attacker could obtain valid authentication credentials to access the resource profile configuration.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R11.4 or later, which contains the patch for this command injection vulnerability in the Windows Resource Profiles component.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pulse Connect Secure 9.1R11.4 or later

  1. Check current Pulse Connect Secure version by navigating to System > Configuration > System Maintenance > View System Info or using the admin CLI command 'get system info'
  2. If version is 9.0.x or 9.1.x before 9.1R11.4, download the 9.1R11.4 (or later) firmware from the Pulse Secure download portal at https://www.pulsesecure.net/products/
  3. Back up the current Pulse Connect Secure configuration via System > Configuration > System Maintenance > Backup/Restore
  4. Upgrade the firmware by navigating to System > Configuration > System Maintenance > Software Upgrade, upload the 9.1R11.4 (or later) firmware file, and apply the upgrade
  5. After the system restarts, verify the new version is installed by checking System > Configuration > System Maintenance > View System Info confirms version 9.1R11.4 or later
  6. Review and re-apply any custom configurations that may not have been preserved after the upgrade
Caveat Major firmware upgrades may change UI behavior or require reconfiguration of custom settings; review release notes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Connect Secure Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,780
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-22899 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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