CVE-2018-14366
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · unediteddownload.cgi in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure 8.1RX before 8.1R13 and 8.3RX before 8.3R4 and Pulse Policy Secure through 5.2RX before 5.2R10 and 5.4RX before 5.4R4 have an Open Redirect Vulnerability.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceAn open redirect vulnerability exists in download.cgi on Pulse Connect Secure and Pulse Policy Secure appliances. Attackers can craft malicious URLs to redirect users to arbitrary websites, typically for phishing attacks.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 8.1= 8.3= 8.1r1.0= 8.1rx= 8.3rx= 5.2r1.0= 5.2r2.0= 5.2r3.0= 5.2r3.2= 5.2r4.0= 5.2r5.0= 5.2r6.0= 5.2r7.0= 5.2r7.1= 5.2r8.0= 5.2r9.0= 5.2r9.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed product and versionAccess the admin web interface or check system information. On the login page or in the system status/About section, locate the exact version number (such as 8.1, 8.3, 8.1r1.0, 8.1rx, 8.3rx for Connect Secure, or 5.2r1.0 through 5.2r9.1 for Policy Secure).Affected if The installed version exactly matches 8.1, 8.3, 8.1r1.0, 8.1rx, or 8.3rx for Connect Secure; or matches any version from 5.2r1.0 through 5.2r9.1 for Policy Secure.
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Confirm download.cgi is accessibleVerify that the download.cgi endpoint is reachable on the appliance by attempting to access it via the web interface or checking if it responds to HTTP requests.Affected if The download.cgi script is present and responds to requests on the device.
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Check if the open redirect parameter is exploitableSend a crafted request to download.cgi with a malicious redirect target, such as modifying the redirect or destination parameter to point to an external domain (for example: /download.cgi?redirect=http://malicious-site.com). Observe if the application reflects this arbitrary URL in the response.Affected if The application accepts and reflects an attacker-controlled URL in the response without proper validation, allowing redirection to external sites.
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Verify no compensating controls are in placeCheck if web filtering, URL rewriting, or other security proxies are actively blocking malicious redirect attempts to download.cgi.Affected if No security controls are intercepting or blocking the open redirect behavior in download.cgi.
You are affected if your appliance runs Connect Secure version 8.1, 8.3, 8.1r1.0, 8.1rx, or 8.3rx, or Policy Secure version 5.2r1.0 through 5.2r9.1, and the download.cgi script is accessible and allows arbitrary URL redirection without mitigation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to Pulse Connect Secure 8.1R13/8.3R4 or Pulse Policy Secure 5.2R10/5.4R4 or later to patch the vulnerable download.cgi component.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14366 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-14366 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data