CVE-2020-12880 Privilege escalation in n/a
Attackers can gain root access and retrieve source code by manipulating kernel boot parameters during the pre-install phase of Pulse Secure appliances.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2020-12880?
CVE-2020-12880 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, published on 27 Jul 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
An issue was discovered in Pulse Policy Secure (PPS) and Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) Virtual Appliance before 9.1R8. By manipulating a certain kernel boot parameter, it can be tricked into dropping into a root shell in a pre-install phase where the entire source code of the appliance is available and can be retrieved. (The source code is otherwise inaccessible because the appliance has its hard disks encrypted, and no root shell is available during normal operation.)
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-12880?
It affects 4 products.
Products include Ivanti Connect Secure, Ivanti Policy Secure, Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure, Pulsesecure Pulse Policy Secure.
How do I fix CVE-2020-12880?
No fix has been published for CVE-2020-12880 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2020-12880 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-12880 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Ivanti Connect Secure
- CVE-2021-22893 Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Use-After-Free
- CVE-2019-11510 Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Arbitrary File Read
- CVE-2024-21887 Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Command Injection
- CVE-2025-22457 Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways Stack-Based Buffer Overflow
- CVE-2025-0282 Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways Stack-Based Buffer Overflow
Sources
Also known as GHSA-6fx5-7h4w-mcvx.