How severe is CVE-2020-8243?

CVE-2020-8243 has a CVSS score of 7.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-8243?

Affected package information for CVE-2020-8243 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2020-8243?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2020-8243 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2020-8243 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2020-8243, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-8243?

CVE-2020-8243 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 20.5%, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2020-8243 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2020-8243 (Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-05-03. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-8243?

CVE-2020-8243 is classified as Code Injection (CWE-94). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2020-8243?

CVE-2020-8243 affects ivanti connect secure (1 version, e.g. 9.1); ivanti policy secure (1 version, e.g. 9.1). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2020-8243 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-8243 was published on September 30, 2020 and was last updated on December 18, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2021-11-03 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-05-03

CVE-2020-8243

HIGH

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to upload custom template to perform an arbitrary code execution.

Published

Sep 30, 2020

Updated

Dec 18, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

1 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

20.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk96th percentile+8.14%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to upload custom template to perform an arbitrary code execution.

Affected Products

2 products · 28 configurations

Application

connect secureivanti

≤ 9.0

1 version

9.1

Application

policy secureivanti

≤ 9.0

1 version

9.1

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interfac…

cisa.govCISAJul 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to upload custom template to perform an arbitrary code execution.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-8243 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2020-8243 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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