HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-11581
HIGH

CVE-2020-11581

CWE-78Published: April 6, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

8.1
CVSS v3.1

Official 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.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-11581 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.1.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Apple1 product(s)
macos
Linux1 product(s)
linux kernel
Oracle1 product(s)
solaris
pulsesecure2 product(s)
pulse connect securepulse policy secure
Source: NVD CPE · 5 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://git.lsd.cat/g/pulse-host-checker-rce
ADVISORYhttps://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44426
ADVISORYhttps://git.lsd.cat/g/pulse-host-checker-rce
ADVISORYhttps://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44426

All References (4)

→
https://git.lsd.cat/g/pulse-host-checker-rceExploit · Third Party Advisory
→
https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44426Vendor Advisory
→
https://git.lsd.cat/g/pulse-host-checker-rceExploit · Third Party Advisory
→
https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44426Vendor Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-11581
CVSS Score8.1 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-78
CISA KEVNo
Affected4 vendor(s)
PublishedApr 6, 2020

Related CVEs (CWE-78)

CVE-2022-33194
10.0
CVE-2023-2564
10.0
CVE-2022-33192
10.0
CVE-2022-33193
10.0
CVE-2022-33195
10.0
CVE-2023-3572
10.0

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2020-11581 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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