What it is
CVE-2021-22893 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure. Pulse Connect Secure 9.0R3/9.1R1 and higher is vulnerable to an authentication bypass vulnerability exposed by the...
Vulnerability report
Exploited in the wild
Confirmed confidence
In CISA KEV
CVE-2021-22893
Pulse Connect Secure Authentication Bypass
Pulse Secure / Pulse Connect Secure · PCS 9.0R3 or above, PCS 9.1R1 and above
- Severity
- CVSS 10.0 · Critical
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Exploit status
- Exploited in the wild
- EPSS
- 47.2%
- First observed
- —
- Last observed
- —
Decision summary
What security teams need to know first
Direct answers before the deeper technical record.
Is it exploited?
Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.
Who is affected?
Pulse Secure / Pulse Connect Secure pcs 9.0r3 or above, pcs 9.1r1 and above.
What should we do?
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
Overview
Pulse Connect Secure Authentication Bypass
Pulse Connect Secure 9.0R3/9.1R1 and higher is vulnerable to an authentication bypass vulnerability exposed by the Windows File Share Browser and Pulse Secure Collaboration features of Pulse Connect Secure that can allow an unauthenticated user to perform remote arbitrary code execution on the Pulse Connect Secure gateway.
This vulnerability has been exploited in the wild.
Vendor
Product
Affected
Status
n/a
Pulse Connect Secure
PCS 9.0R3 or above, PCS 9.1R1 and above
Affected
- Published
- 23 Apr 2021
- Exploitation Reported
- 03 Nov 2021
- Attack vector
- Remote
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
Tags
ransomware
windows
malware
cisa
CVE References
- CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-22893
- kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44784 kb.pulsesecure.net · CVE Record https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44784/
- blog.pulsesecure.net/pulse-connect-secure-security-update blog.pulsesecure.net · CVE Record https://blog.pulsesecure.net/pulse-connect-secure-security-update/
- fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2021/04/suspected-apt-a... fireeye.com · CVE Record https://www.fireeye.com/blog/threat-research/2021/04/suspected-apt-ac...
- kb.cert.org/vuls/id/213092 kb.cert.org · CVE Record https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/213092
Exploitation evidence
Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited
Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.
Exploited in the wild
CISA
Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.
Used in malware
CISA
Malware families have been linked to exploitation of this CVE.
Known exploited vulnerability sources
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2021-11-03 00:00 UTC |
| CVE | 2026-08-12 04:21 UTC |
Detection
Operational artifacts and observed signals
Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.
Observed signals
- Request targets
- 0
- User-Agents
- 0
Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.
Scanner coverage
No scanner integrations recorded yet.
Virtual patch status
No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.
Learn about virtual patches →No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Risk and context
Severity, weaknesses, and research context
CVSS v3.1
10.0
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS
47.2%
Weaknesses
All CVSS Scores
CVSS v3.1
10.0
Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2.0
7.5
High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Timeline
From disclosure to observed exploitation
-
KEV confirmed by CVE
Exploitation attested by an external source
-
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
First public exploitation report
Exploit observed in malware
-
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Pro API
Automate this intelligence
Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
- Evidence confidence and provenance
- First-party sensor telemetry
- PoC and scanner references
- Affected versions and enrichment
- Automation-ready JSON delivery
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2021-22893
Free JSON includes basic KEV fields{
"cve_id": "CVE-2021-22893",
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 10.0,
"cvss_estimated": false,
"epss_score": 0.47172,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}Early warning alerts
Get alerts on high-impact exploitation
Receive curator-selected alerts when exploitation activity warrants attention. Each alert includes the evidence and context needed to decide what requires attention now.