A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to gain arbitrary file read…

published 2020-09-29 6 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2020-29126

cvss: 4.9; version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 3.4%; EPSS 3.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 88%
public exploits: 0; none known

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to gain arbitrary file reading access through Pulse Collaboration via XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability.

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Proof of concept is public
Automatable: no
Technical impact: partial
Assessed: 23 mo ago (2024-11-18)

Exploit prediction

3.36% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 88% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

gosecure.net https://www.gosecure.net/blog/2020/11/13/forget-your-perimeter-part-2-four-vulnerabilities-in-pulse-connect-secure/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	3.1	4.9	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
NVD	2.0	4.0	AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N

Affected products

n/a Pulse Connect Secure

Classification

Weakness

CWE-611 Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

Technology feeds

Ivanti rss critical rss

References

gosecure.net /blog/2020/11/13/forget-your-perimeter-part-2-four-vulnerabilities-in-pulse-connect-secure/
exploit, third-party-advisory
kb.pulsesecure.net /articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44588
vendor-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2020-8256
NVD CVE-2020-8256

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary