---
title: "Pulse Secure Code Inject (CVE-2020-8218)"
canonical: https://trickest.com/library/cve-2020-8218-pulse-connect-secure-admin-code-injection
description: "Flag Pulse Connect Secure hosts for CVE-2020-8218 by reading version from GET /dana-na/nc/nc_gina_ver.txt. FIXED floor 9.1R8 / 9.1.8. No admin code inject."
---

# Pulse Secure Code Inject (CVE-2020-8218)

## Overview

This workflow finds Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure and sorts each host by whether its version falls below the CVE-2020-8218 FIXED floor. CVE-2020-8218 is admin-interface code injection on vulnerable Pulse Connect Secure builds. This check never authenticates to admin and never injects code. Give it hostnames, IP addresses, or URLs you are authorised to test. The workflow GETs `/dana-na/nc/nc_gina_ver.txt` only, fingerprints Pulse Connect Secure from that version text, reads the release string, and compares it to floor 9.1R8 / 9.1.8 in the graph. Every host comes back affected or not, so a fleet advisory becomes an evidenced list for [exposure management](/use-cases/exposure-management). An affected row is a version signal only.

Run it on a schedule when edge VPN appliances lag on maintenance releases. A gateway still below 9.1R8 is the reason the same fingerprint stays useful.

## Pipeline

1. Read the target list. Hosts, URLs, or ranges, one per line, become the scope.
2. GET `/dana-na/nc/nc_gina_ver.txt` on each host and fingerprint Pulse Connect Secure from the version text in that response.
3. Parse the release string and compare it to the CVE-2020-8218 FIXED floor in the graph (9.1R8 / 9.1.8).
4. Collect the per-host rows: product match, version, vulnerable flag, and any fetch error.
5. Emit the summary counts: hosts checked, product hits, vulnerable, and errors.

## Inputs

- **Target scope.** Hostnames, IP addresses, CIDR ranges, or URLs, one per line. Full URLs and host:port entries work too, since the workflow normalizes each into a bare host. Point it at scope you are authorised to test.

## Outputs

- **results.jsonl.** One row per host: URL, whether Pulse Connect Secure was detected, the version read, the vulnerable flag, and detail text.
- **findings.jsonl.** The same per-host verdict shaped for triage, with severity set from the vulnerable flag.
- **summary.json.** Counts across the list: targets, product hits, vulnerable, and errors, plus the detection notes from the graph.

## Integrations

- HTTP. Unauthenticated GET of `/dana-na/nc/nc_gina_ver.txt` only. No admin login and no code injection.

## Sample output

The records below are illustrative and do not come from a real run. They show one Pulse Connect Secure host below the CVE-2020-8218 floor, one at or above it, and one host that is not the product.

```jsonl
{"url": "https://vpn.example.com", "is_product": true, "product_version": "9.1R7", "vulnerable": true, "detail": "below fixed release 9.1R8"}
{"url": "https://vpn.example.org", "is_product": true, "product_version": "9.1R8", "vulnerable": false, "detail": "at or above fixed release"}
{"url": "https://shop.example.net", "is_product": false, "product_version": null, "vulnerable": false, "detail": "not identified as Pulse Connect Secure"}
```

```json
{"cve": "CVE-2020-8218", "total_targets": 3, "product_detected": 2, "vulnerable": 1, "errors": 0}
```

## FAQ

### Which Pulse Connect Secure versions does this flag?

Builds below floor 9.1R8 / 9.1.8, the single FIXED floor coded in the graph. The compare uses the version text `/dana-na/nc/nc_gina_ver.txt` itself served.

### Does an affected row mean admin code injection worked?

No. The check only GETs `/dana-na/nc/nc_gina_ver.txt` and reads the version string. It does not log into admin and it does not confirm code injection.

### Is this check safe on production?

Yes. It is a read-only unauthenticated GET of the public version endpoint. It does not authenticate or inject code.

### Does the check need credentials?

No. It fingerprints the public version text the way an external scanner would.

### What is CVE-2020-8218?

Admin-interface code injection in Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure on vulnerable builds. This workflow maps hosts to that CVE by version exposure only.

## Related workflows

- [Pulse Secure File Read (CVE-2019-11510)](/library/cve-2019-11510-pulse-connect-secure-file-read). Reach for it when you need the arbitrary file read fingerprint on the same VPN fleet.
- [Pulse Secure Cmd Inject (CVE-2019-11539)](/library/cve-2019-11539-pulse-connect-secure-cmd-injection). Reach for it when you need the earlier admin command injection check.
- [Ivanti Auth Bypass (CVE-2023-46805)](/library/ivanti-auth-bypass-check-cve-2023-46805). Reach for it when you need a newer Ivanti auth bypass check.

---
_Markdown source of https://trickest.com/library/cve-2020-8218-pulse-connect-secure-admin-code-injection._