# CVE-2020-8256: XML external entity in Pulse Connect Secure

> An authenticated attacker can read arbitrary files via an XML External Entity vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure admin interface.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.9 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 29 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 18 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pcw3-p344-q7jr

## What is CVE-2020-8256?

CVE-2020-8256 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, published on 29 Sep 2020. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the Pulse Connect Secure < 9.1R8.2 admin web interface could allow an authenticated attacker to gain arbitrary file reading access through Pulse Collaboration via XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8256?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Ivanti Connect Secure, Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8256?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-8256 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-8256 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-8256 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ivanti Connect Secure

- [CVE-2021-22893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22893/): Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-11510](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11510/): Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Arbitrary File Read (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-21887](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21887/): Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Command Injection (critical 9.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-22457](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-22457/): Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-0282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0282/): Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.0, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8256 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8256 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, published on 29 Sep 2020. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-8256 exists.

Affected product: Ivanti Connect Secure. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8256/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8256/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8256
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8256
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8256

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8256/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.