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Pulse Secure Desktop Client CVE-2020-13162

HIGH
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition (CWE-367)
2020-06-16 cve@mitre.org
Information Disclosure Microsoft Ivanti Pulse Secure Desktop Client Pulse Secure Installer Service Pulsesecure
7.0
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-367
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture TOCTOU prevention
Impact

CVSS score of 7.0 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, high complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in PulseSecureService.exe in Pulse Secure Client versions prior to 9.1.6 down to 5.3 R70 for Windows (which runs as NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM) allows unprivileged. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-367. A time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in PulseSecureService.exe in Pulse Secure Client versions prior to 9.1.6 down to 5.3 R70 for Windows (which runs as NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM) allows unprivileged users to run a Microsoft Installer executable with elevated privileges. Affected products include: Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Desktop Client, Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Installer Service. Version information: prior to 9.1.6.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

A time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in PulseSecureService.exe in Pulse Secure Client versions prior to 9.1.6 down to 5.3 R70 for Windows (which runs as NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM) allows unprivileged users to run a Microsoft Installer executable with elevated privileges.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.8%
Top 48% 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 0.8%
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
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

56
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +35
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r1.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r1.1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r2.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r3.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r4.1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r4.2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r5.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r5.2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r6.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3:r7.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r1.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r2.1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r3:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r3.2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r4:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r4.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r5.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0:r6.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r1.0:*:*:*:windows:*:*
+ 12 more

More in Pulse Secure Desktop Client

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CVE-2020-8239 CRITICAL
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A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 is vulnerable to the client registry privilege escalation att
CVE-2018-11002 MEDIUM POC
5.5 Nov 29

Pulse Secure Desktop Client 5.3 up to and including R6.0 build 1769 on Windows has Insecure Permissions. Rated medium se
CVE-2020-8254 HIGH
8.8 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 has Remote Code Execution (RCE) if users can be convinced to

CVE-2019-11213 HIGH
8.1 Apr 12

In Pulse Secure Pulse Desktop Client and Network Connect, an attacker could access session tokens to replay and spoof se
CVE-2020-8250 HIGH
7.8 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client (Linux) < 9.1R9 could allow local attackers to escalate privilege. Ra
CVE-2020-8249 HIGH
7.8 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client (Linux) < 9.1R9 could allow local attackers to perform buffer overflo
CVE-2020-8248 HIGH
7.8 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client (Linux) < 9.1R9 could allow local attackers to escalate privilege. Ra
CVE-2020-8240 HIGH
7.8 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 allows a restricted user on an endpoint machine can use syste
CVE-2018-15865 HIGH
7.8 Sep 06

The Pulse Secure Desktop (macOS) has a Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerab
CVE-2020-8241 HIGH
7.5 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 could allow the attacker to perform a MITM Attack if end user
CVE-2018-16261 MEDIUM
6.8 Sep 06

In Pulse Secure Pulse Desktop Client 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1, there is a Privilege Escalation Vulnerability with Dy
CVE-2018-15749 MEDIUM
5.5 Sep 06

The Pulse Secure Desktop (macOS) 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1 has a Format String Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (

Same weakness CWE-367 – Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

View all
CVE-2024-30088 HIGH POC
7.0
CVE-2025-22224 CRITICAL
9.3
CVE-2025-38352 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2023-35311 HIGH
8.8
CVE-2022-48618 HIGH
7.0
CVE-2023-38146 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2025-34027 CRITICAL POC
10.0
CVE-2020-1337 HIGH POC
7.8

Same technique Information Disclosure

View all
CVE-2019-2725 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2021-34523 CRITICAL POC
9.0
CVE-2013-2251 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2017-5638 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2025-24813 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2025-68613 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2015-1701 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2017-0147 HIGH POC
7.5

References

Advisories & patches
ADVISORY https://kb.pulsesecure.net/?atype=sa ADVISORY https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44503 REF http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158117/Pulse-Secure-Client-For-Windows-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html REF http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159065/Pulse-Secure-Windows-Client-Privilege-Escalation.html REF http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Jun/25 REF http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Sep/15 REF https://twitter.com/gsepcali/status/1262551597990711296 REF https://twitter.com/gsepcali/status/1272927080909623297 REF https://twitter.com/sepcali/status/1262551597990711296

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