CVE-2020-13162
A time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in PulseSecureService.exe in Pulse Secure Client versions prior to 9.1.6 down to 5.3 R70 for…
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- mitre
Description
A time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in PulseSecureService.exe in Pulse Secure Client versions prior to 9.1.6 down to 5.3 R70 for Windows (which runs as NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM) allows unprivileged users to run a Microsoft Installer executable with elevated privileges.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: a proof of concept is public.
Timeline
ID reserved
By mitre
- 28 days later
· 28 days later
Published
- 5 years later
· 5 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISA-ADPADP (enrichment) | 3.1 | High7.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | High7.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.79% · top 43% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: poc · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.0.
Weakness
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References (10)
- https://kb.pulsesecure.net/?atype=sa (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://twitter.com/sepcali/status/1262551597990711296 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- 20200616 Pulse Secure Client < 9.1R6 TOCTOU Privilege Escalation (CVE-2020-13162) (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCx_transferred
- https://www.redtimmy.com/privilege-escalation/pulse-secure-client-for-windows-9-1-6-toctou-privilege-escalation-cve-2020-13162/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158117/Pulse-Secure-Client-For-Windows-Local-Privilege-Escalation.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44503 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- https://twitter.com/gsepcali/status/1262551597990711296 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://twitter.com/gsepcali/status/1272927080909623297 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- 20200904 Pulse Secure Windows Client <9.1.6 (CVE-2020-13162) - exploit (opens in a new tab)mailing-listx_refsource_FULLDISCx_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159065/Pulse-Secure-Windows-Client-Privilege-Escalation.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2020-13162)Record last updated .