What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-11581?

CVE-2020-11581 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 9.8%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2020-11581?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2020-11581. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 9.8%.

Pulse Connect Secure CVE-2020-11581

HIGH

OS Command Injection (CWE-78)

2020-04-06 cve@mitre.org

Command Injection Apple Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Pulse Policy Secure Pulsesecure

8.1

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-78 OWASP Top 10:2025 A05:2025 - Injection ASVS 5.0 V1 - Encoding and Sanitization OS command sanitization, avoid shell exec MITRE ATT&CK 2 techniques across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 8.1 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, high complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 9.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

An issue was discovered in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) through 2020-04-06. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Avoid passing user input to shell commands. Use language-specific APIs instead of shell execution. Apply strict input validation with allowlists.

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78), which allows attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. An issue was discovered in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) through 2020-04-06. The applet in tncc.jar, executed on macOS, Linux, and Solaris clients when a Host Checker policy is enforced, allows a man-in-the-middle attacker to perform OS command injection attacks (against a client) via shell metacharacters to the doCustomRemediateInstructions method, because Runtime.getRuntime().exec() is used. Affected products include: Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure, Pulsesecure Pulse Policy Secure. Version information: through 2020.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.1 HIGH

AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

An issue was discovered in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) through 2020-04-06. The applet in tncc.jar, executed on macOS, Linux, and Solaris clients when a Host Checker policy is enforced, allows a man-in-the-middle attacker to perform OS command injection attacks (against a client) via shell metacharacters to the doCustomRemediateInstructions method, because Runtime.getRuntime().exec() is used.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

9.8%

Top 5% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV No

Public POC Yes

EPSS 9.8%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

Poc

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +10

CVSS: +40

PoC: +20

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

OS Command Injection CRITICAL

OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_connect_secure:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_policy_secure:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Same weakness CWE-78 – OS Command Injection

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References

Advisories & patches

ADVISORY https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44426

Search Externally

GitHub PoC

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