U.S. software giant Ivanti has confirmed that hackers are exploiting two critical-rated vulnerabilities affecting its widely used corporate VPN appliance, but said that patches won’t be available until the end of the month.
Ivanti said the two vulnerabilities — tracked as CVE-2023-46805 and CVE-2024-21887 — were found in its Ivanti Connect Secure software. Formerly known as Pulse Connect Secure, this is a remote access VPN solution that enables remote and mobile users to access corporate resources over the internet.
Ivanti said it is aware of “less than 10 customers” impacted so far by the “zero day” vulnerabilities, described as such given Ivanti had zero time to fix the flaws before they were maliciously exploited.
One of these was also a customer of cybersecurity company Volexity, which said it detected suspicious activity on the customer’s network in the second week of December. Volexity found that hackers had chained together the two Connect Secure vulnerabilities to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution, allowing the hackers to “steal configuration data, modify existing files, download remote files, and reverse tunnel from the ICS VPN appliance.”
Volexity said it has evidence to suggest that the customer’s VPN appliance may have been compromised as early as December 3, and has linked the attack to a China-backed hacking group it tracks as UTA0178.
While Ivanti — no stranger to zero days — says only a few of its corporate customers are affected, security researcher Kevin Beaumont noted on Mastodon that there will “likely be many more victims.” Beaumont, who has dubbed the two vulnerabilities “ConnectAround,” posted results from a scan showing roughly 15,000 affected Ivanti appliances exposed to the internet globally.
In a blog post shared with TechCrunch on Thursday, Rapid7 researcher Caitlin Condon noted that the cybersecurity company had observed scanning activity “targeting our honeypots that emulate Ivanti Connect Secure appliances.”
Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room
Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $400.
Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit
1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately
Offer ends March 13.
Ivanti says that patches for the two vulnerabilities will be released on a staggered basis starting the week of January 22 and running through mid-February. When TechCrunch asked why patches weren’t being made available immediately, Ivanti declined to comment. Ivanti also declined to say whether it is aware of any data exfiltration as a result of these in-the-wild attacks, or whether it has attributed these attacks to any specific threat actor.
Ivanti is urging that potentially impacted organizations prioritize following its mitigation guidance, and U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA has also published an advisory urging Ivanti Connect Secure to mitigate the two vulnerabilities immediately.
However, as noted by Volexity, applying these mitigations will not resolve past compromises.
