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Connect Secure CVE-2021-22893

CRITICAL
Improper Authentication (CWE-287)
2021-04-23 support@hackerone.com
10.0
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Authentication mechanism validation
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Defense Evasion, Initial Access

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 10.0 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Emergency Immediate action required. Why: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited), no patch available.
Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) No patch listed yet 47.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Pulse Connect Secure 9.0R3/9.1R1 and higher is vulnerable to an authentication bypass vulnerability exposed by the Windows File Share Browser and Pulse Secure Collaboration features of Pulse Connect. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Implement multi-factor authentication, enforce strong password policies, use proven authentication frameworks.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

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 Improper Authentication (CWE-287), which allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access. Pulse Connect Secure 9.0R3/9.1R1 and higher is vulnerable to an authentication bypass vulnerability exposed by the Windows File Share Browser and Pulse Secure Collaboration features of Pulse Connect Secure that can allow an unauthenticated user to perform remote arbitrary code execution on the Pulse Connect Secure gateway. This vulnerability has been exploited in the wild. Affected products include: Ivanti Connect Secure.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 10.0 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Added to CISA KEV
Jul 14, 2026 - 04:22 CISA
CVE Published
Apr 23, 2021 - 17:15 nvd
CRITICAL 10.0

DescriptionNVD

Pulse Connect Secure 9.0R3/9.1R1 and higher is vulnerable to an authentication bypass vulnerability exposed by the Windows File Share Browser and Pulse Secure Collaboration features of Pulse Connect Secure that can allow an unauthenticated user to perform remote arbitrary code execution on the Pulse Connect Secure gateway. This vulnerability has been exploited in the wild.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score
4.9/10
Composite threat intelligence
EPSS Score
47.2%
Top 1% exploitable
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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 CRITICAL
CISA KEV Yes
Public POC No
EPSS 47.2%
Patch available No
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited), no patch available
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
Immediate
Exploitation· derived
Active
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
High

Priority Score

147
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: +50
EPSS: +47
CVSS: +50
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.0:r6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:r1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:r10.0:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:r10.2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:r11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:r11.1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ivanti:connect_secure:9.1:r11.3:*:*:*:*:*:*
+ 16 more
CVE-2024-21887 CRITICAL POC
9.1 Jan 12

Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure contain an authenticated command injection in web components allowing administra

CVE-2023-46805 HIGH POC
8.2 Jan 12

Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure contain an authentication bypass in the web component allowing unauthenticated a

CVE-2024-21893 HIGH POC
8.2 Jan 31

Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure contain an SSRF vulnerability in the SAML component allowing unauthenticated acc

CVE-2025-0282 CRITICAL POC
9.0 Jan 08

Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and Neurons for ZTA contain a stack-based buffer overflow allowing unauthenticated

CVE-2025-22457 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 03

Remote code execution in Ivanti Connect Secure (before 22.7R2.6), Ivanti Policy Secure (before 22.7R1.4), and Ivanti ZTA

CVE-2026-104935 HIGH POC
8.6 Oct 13

Remote unauthenticated attackers can bypass authentication by spoofing in Ivanti Connect Secure versions before 25.1.3.0

CVE-2025-22467 CRITICAL
9.9 Feb 11

A stack-based buffer overflow in Ivanti Connect Secure before version 22.7R2.6 allows a remote authenticated attacker to

CVE-2024-37404 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 18

Improper Input Validation in the admin portal of Ivanti Connect Secure before 22.7R2.1 and 9.1R18.9, or Ivanti Policy Se

CVE-2020-8260 HIGH POC
7.2 Oct 28

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R9 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to perform

CVE-2019-11539 HIGH POC
7.2 Apr 26

In Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4, 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1, 8.2RX before 8.2R12.1, and 8.1R

CVE-2024-21894 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 04

A heap overflow vulnerability in IPSec component of Ivanti Connect Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Ivanti Policy Secure allows an

CVE-2019-11540 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 26

In Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4 and 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1 and Pulse Policy Secure versi

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