Is CVE-2020-8218 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2020-8218 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added on March 7, 2022.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-8218?

CVE-2020-8218 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 (HIGH).

CVE-2020-8218

HIGH · CVSS 7.2CISA KEV: actively exploitedEPSS 32.3%EU EUVD: exploited

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.

Key facts

CVSS score: 7.2 (v3.1)
Severity: HIGH
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness (CWE): CWE-94
EPSS score: 32.3% (98th percentile)
In CISA KEV: Yes, added March 7, 2022
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2020-29091)
Published: July 30, 2020
NVD last modified: June 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Pulse Connect Secure Code Injection Vulnerability

Added to the KEV catalog on March 7, 2022; federal remediation due September 7, 2022.

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2020-29091 in the EU Vulnerability Database. ENISA flags it as known exploited. Last updated in EUVD on October 21, 2025.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / connect secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
ivanti / policy secure
pulsesecure / pulse policy secure

Certified products that may be affected

3 FIPS 140 or Common Criteria certified products, from automated matching by sec-certs.org.

Pulse Connect Secure 8.2 on Virtual Appliance and Pulse Policy Secure 5.3 on Virtual Appliance - Pulse Secure, LLC - Common Criteria CCEVS-VR-VID-10829-2018 - archived
Pulse Policy Secure v5.3 - Pulse Secure, LLC - Common Criteria CCEVS-VR-VID-10785-2017 - archived
Pulse Policy Secure 5.0 R13 - Pulse Secure, LLC - Common Criteria Certificate Number: 2016/98 - archived

References

https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44516(Vendor Advisory)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-8218(US Government Resource)
https://www.gosecure.net/blog/2020/11/13/forget-your-perimeter-part-2-four-vulnerabilities-in-pulse-connect-secure/(Exploit, Third Party Advisory)

Last updated September 17, 2026 · Source: NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS

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