dbcve.org
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-2021-22900

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.1 or later.
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 vulnerability allowed multiple unrestricted uploads in Pulse Connect Secure before 9.1R11.4 that could lead to an authenticated administrator to perform a file write via a maliciously crafted archive upload in the administrator web interface.

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 before version 9.1R11.4 allowed authenticated administrators to write arbitrary files via uploading maliciously crafted archive files through the administrator web interface, representing an unrestricted file upload flaw.

MitigationUpgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R11.4 or later to remediate the file write vulnerability.

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
Pulse Connect SecureApplication
Affected:<= 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 Pulse Connect Secure version
    Log into the administrative web interface and navigate to System > Status or check the version displayed on the login page. Alternatively, use the command line: 'show version' or check the /opt/pulse/sbin/pse version file if CLI access is available.
    Affected if Version is 9.0, 9.1, or any release <= 9.1 (before 9.1R11.4)
  2. Confirm administrator web interface is enabled
    Check the Pulse Connect Secure admin interface is accessible at the configured admin URL (typically /admin). Verify the service is running via 'ps aux | grep pulse' or through the admin dashboard status page.
    Affected if The admin web interface is exposed and operational
  3. Verify admin authentication is configured
    Navigate to Authentication > Administrators in the admin interface to list configured administrator accounts. Confirm at least one admin user exists with write privileges for file upload capabilities.
    Affected if Any authenticated administrator account exists with permissions to upload files through the admin interface
  4. Check for archive upload functionality
    In the admin interface, look for features that accept file uploads, particularly archive files (.zip, .tar, .jar). Common paths: Import/Export settings, Certificate upload, or Workspace upload features under System > Configuration > Import/Export.
    Affected if The admin interface includes functionality that accepts uploaded archive files
  5. Review system logs for suspicious upload activity
    Examine logs under System > Monitoring > Log > Admin Sessions or check /var/log/pulse directory for entries containing 'upload', 'archive', or 'import' commands around the time of potential exploitation.
    Affected if Recent admin sessions show unexpected archive upload attempts or file write operations

You are affected if your Pulse Connect Secure version is 9.0, 9.1, or any release <= 9.1, and the administrator web interface with file upload capabilities is enabled and accessible.

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 9.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Pulse Connect Secure to version 9.1R11.4 or later to remediate the file write vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pulse Connect Secure 9.1R11.4 or later (also apply any available patches for Connect Secure 9.0/9.1)

  1. Download the Pulse Connect Secure firmware version 9.1R11.4 (or later) from the official Pulse Secure support portal at kb.pulsesecure.net using valid authentication
  2. Review the upgrade guide and release notes for 9.1R11.4 to understand any prerequisites
  3. Backup the current Pulse Connect Secure configuration before proceeding
  4. Log into the Pulse Connect Secure admin web interface as an administrator
  5. Navigate to the System > Configuration > System Upgrade section
  6. Upload the 9.1R11.4 firmware image and initiate the upgrade process
  7. Wait for the upgrade to complete and the system to reboot
  8. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the firmware version in the admin interface
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes or compatibility considerations 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
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-22900 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-22900 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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