CVE-2020-8248

HIGH

Pulse Secure Desktop Client (Linux) < 9.1R9 - Privilege Escalation

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2020-8248. PoCs published by mbadanoiu.

AI-analyzed exploit summary The repository provides a technical analysis of CVE-2020-8248, detailing how the Pulse Secure VPN Linux client's SUID executable 'pulsesvc' unsafely uses wildcards in a zip command, leading to privilege escalation. The README references an external PDF for exploitation details but lacks direct exploit code.

Description

A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client (Linux) < 9.1R9 could allow local attackers to escalate privilege.

Exploits (1)

nomisec WRITEUP
by mbadanoiu · poc
https://github.com/mbadanoiu/CVE-2020-8248

The repository provides a technical analysis of CVE-2020-8248, detailing how the Pulse Secure VPN Linux client's SUID executable 'pulsesvc' unsafely uses wildcards in a zip command, leading to privilege escalation. The README references an external PDF for exploitation details but lacks direct exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Pulse Secure VPN Linux Client
Auth required
Prerequisites: Access to a user-controlled folder (~/.pulse_secure/pulse/) · Ability to write crafted filenames · Post-authentication access to the Pulse VPN client
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →

References (1)

Core 1
Core References

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0048
EPSS Percentile 37.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

Status published
Products (2)
pulsesecure/pulse_secure_desktop_client 9.1 r1 (13 CPE variants)
pulsesecure/pulse_secure_desktop_client < 9.1
Published Oct 28, 2020
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026