CVE-2020-8241

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 could allow the attacker to perform a MITM Attack if end users are convinced to connect to a malicious server.

Published: 2020-10-28 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-8241 is rated Moderate Risk (54.4/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.74%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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-2020-8241

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 3.50% 1.74% -1.76%
2 2025-03-30 9.39% 3.50% -5.89%
3 2025-03-29 9.39%

Full EPSS history (11 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-8241

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
1.6 5.9 [email protected]
5.1 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:H)
Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
4.9 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-8241

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-8241

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

References for CVE-2020-8241

cvelogic Threat Intelligence