How severe is CVE-2020-8239?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2020-8239 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Desktop Client

Q: What is CVE-2020-8239?

CVE-2020-8239 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Desktop Client. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-10-28.

CVE-2020-8239

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 is vulnerable to the client registry privilege escalation attack. This fix also requires Server Side Upgrade due to Standalone Host Checker Client (Windows) and Windows PDC.

Published 2020-10-28 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.020 (80.2th percentile), scored 2026-09-30.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 80th percentile — 80.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.020 · newest: 0.020 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Desktop Client — versions 9.1
Pulse Secure Desktop Cient — versions 9.1R9

Public proof-of-concept exploits

withdk/pulse-secure-vpn-mitm-research

References

kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44601 (Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-8239?: CVE-2020-8239 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Desktop Client. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-10-28.
How severe is CVE-2020-8239?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-8239 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.