CVE-2020-8240

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 allows a restricted user on an endpoint machine can use system-level privileges if the Embedded Browser is configured with Credential Provider. This vulnerability only affects Windows PDC if the Embedded Browser is configured with the Credential Provider.

Published: 2020-10-28 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-8240 is rated Low Risk (39.7/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.32%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-8240

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.04% 0.32% +0.28%
2 2025-03-30 0.09% 0.04% -0.04%
3 2025-03-29 — 0.09% —

Full EPSS history (8 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-8240

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.9 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 3.4 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-8240

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-8240

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client < 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:*:*:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r3:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r3.1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r4:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r4.1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r4.2:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r5:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r6:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r7:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r7.1:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r8:*:*:*:windows:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.1:r8.2:*:*:*:windows:*:*

References for CVE-2020-8240

cvelogic Threat Intelligence