What is CVE-2020-8218?

CVE-2020-8218 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, classified under Code Injection. CVSS score: 7.2/10. Published 2020-07-30.

How severe is CVE-2020-8218?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.2 out of 10.

Is CVE-2020-8218 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-8218 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-07), indicating it is being actively exploited. 21 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

RCE in Ivanti Connect Secure

CVE-2020-8218

A code injection vulnerability exists in Pulse Connect Secure <9.1R8 that allows an attacker to crafted a URI to perform an arbitrary code execution via the admin web interface.

Vulnerability class: RCE (Remote Code Execution)

Published 2020-07-30 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.2 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.323 (98.3th percentile), scored 2026-10-18.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 98th percentile — 98.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.327 · newest: 0.323 · change: -0.005

Affected products

Ivanti Connect Secure — versions 9.1
Ivanti Policy Secure — versions 9.1
Pulsesecure Pulse Policy Secure
Pulse Connect Secure — versions Fixed in 9.1R8

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-94 — Code Injection

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-03-07. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-09-07.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44516 (Vendor Advisory)
www.gosecure.net/blog/2020/11/13/forget-your-perimeter-part-2-four-vulnerabilit… (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-8218?: CVE-2020-8218 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, classified under Code Injection. CVSS score: 7.2/10. Published 2020-07-30.
How severe is CVE-2020-8218?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.2 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-8218 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2020-8218 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-07), indicating it is being actively exploited. 21 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.