How severe is CVE-2020-11581?

CVE-2020-11581 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-11581 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 10% (95th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-11581?

CVE-2020-11581 primarily affects Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-11581?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2020-11581 published?

CVE-2020-11581 was published on 2020-04-06 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-11581

CVE-2020-11581 is a high-severity vulnerability in Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-78.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.1)
CVSS v2: 9.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 10% (95th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-78
Affected product: Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure
Published: 2020-04-06
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-11581?: 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.
How severe is CVE-2020-11581?: CVE-2020-11581 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.1, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-11581 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 10% (95th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-11581?: CVE-2020-11581 primarily affects Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-11581?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2020-11581 published?: CVE-2020-11581 was published on 2020-04-06 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

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

More vulnerabilities in Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure

CVE-2016-4787 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) 8.2 before 8.2r1, 8.1 before 8.1r2, 8.0 before 8.0r10, and 7.4 before 7.4r13.4 allow remote…
CVE-2019-11540 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): In Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4 and 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1 and Pulse Policy Secure…
CVE-2018-6320 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A vulnerability has been discovered in login.cgi in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) 8.1RX before 8.1R12 and…
CVE-2018-5299 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): A stack-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability exists in the web server in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) before…
CVE-2020-11580 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): An issue was discovered in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) through 2020-04-06. The applet in tncc.jar, executed…
CVE-2021-22908 — High (CVSS 8.8): A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Windows File Resource Profiles in 9.X allows a remote authenticated user with…

All CVEs affecting Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure →

Other CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-56004 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A shellcode injection in the mercurial handler of the obs tar_scm source service before version 0.12.4 could be used by…
CVE-2026-56415 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability within the debug.pl script that is…
CVE-2026-56413 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability in the ms_service.pl service, which listens…
CVE-2026-49869 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, AuthenticationFilter in…
CVE-2026-49261 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): MariaDB server is a community developed fork of MySQL server. Versions 10.6.1 through 10.6.26, 10.11.1 through…
CVE-2026-10520 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An OS Command Injection vulnerability in Ivanti Sentry before the R10.5.2, R10.6.2 and R10.7.1 versions allows a…

Browse all CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities →