CVE-2023-46805: Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Affects Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy SecureSource CISA KEV
Mentioned vulnerabilities
Exploited in the wild · used in ransomware campaigns · KEV due 22 Jan 2024 · public exploit available (Metasploit) · 99% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure now.
Data as of 10/24/2026, 22:15:59 UTC
- Exploitation
Actively exploited – in CISA KEV since 01/10/2024
- KEV deadline
- 01/22/2024 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
- Ransomware
- Used in ransomware campaigns
- EPSS
- 99.9% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Public exploits
- 1 Metasploit module, a Nuclei detection templatePublic attack or detection tooling exists; see Public exploits below.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:NWhat to do
CISA required action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Check the firmware or software version for Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure in the device's admin interface against the vendor advisory.
Public exploits and detection
Metasploit modules
Nuclei detection templates
Public tooling indexed from Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB and ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates. Its existence raises the odds of exploitation; it does not confirm attacks.
Description
Ivanti Connect Secure (ICS, formerly known as Pulse Connect Secure) and Ivanti Policy Secure gateways contain an authentication bypass vulnerability in the web component that allows an attacker to access restricted resources by bypassing control checks. This vulnerability can be leveraged in conjunction with CVE-2024-21887, a command injection vulnerability.
Weaknesses
- CWE-287Improper Authentication (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
References
- forums.ivanti.com/s/article/KB-CVE-2023-46805-Authentication-Bypass-CVE-2024-21887-Command-Injection-for-Ivanti-Connect-Secure-and-Ivanti-Policy-Secure-Gateways?language=en_US (opens in a new tab)
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46805 (opens in a new tab)
- cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search=CVE-2023-46805 (opens in a new tab)