CVE-2021-22893
CRITICALCISA KEVEPSS 99th pctlDescription
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.
How to fix
Actively exploited, no published fix found yet
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Federal remediation due: 2022-05-03
Known ransomware campaign use
Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.
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CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 99% of all known CVEs.
Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Use-After-Free Vulnerability
Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure contains a use-after-free vulnerability that allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute code via license services.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Remediation due: 2022-05-03
Associated with ransomware campaigns
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-35082 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2023-35078 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2017-7921 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2024-7593 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | - |
| CVE-2023-46805 | High | 8.2 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | - |
| CVE-2022-40684 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2021-22893?
No published fix for CVE-2021-22893 has been found yet. It is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list; federal agencies must remediate by 2022-05-03. Apply the vendor's mitigations per CISA's guidance.
Is CVE-2021-22893 being actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2021-22893 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation has been observed in the wild. CISA has also linked it to known ransomware campaigns. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 2022-05-03. Treat it as a priority whatever its CVSS score says.
How severe is CVE-2021-22893?
CVE-2021-22893 has a CVSS v3 base score of 10.0, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-12-18.