CVE-2018-7572
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 · uneditedPulse Secure Client 9.0R1 and 5.3RX before 5.3R5, when configured to authenticate VPN users during Windows Logon, can allow attackers to bypass Windows authentication and execute commands on the system with the privileges of Pulse Secure Client. The attacker must interrupt the client's network connectivity, and trigger a connection to a crafted proxy server with an invalid SSL certificate that allows certification-manager access, leading to the ability to browse local files and execute local programs.
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 confidencePulse Secure Client versions 9.0R1 and 5.3RX before 5.3R5, when configured for VPN authentication during Windows Logon, contains an authentication bypass flaw. An attacker with network positioning capability can interrupt client connectivity and redirect to a crafted proxy server with an invalid SSL certificate. This grants access to the certificate-manager functionality, enabling unauthorized local file browsing and program execution with Pulse Secure Client privileges.
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= 5.3r1.0= 5.3r1.1= 5.3r2.0= 5.3r3.0= 5.3r4.0= 5.3r4.1= 5.3r4.2= 5.3rx= 9.0r1.0CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 Pulse Secure Client versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Pulse Secure, or launch Pulse Secure Client and check About/Help sectionAffected if Version matches 5.3r1.0, 5.3r1.1, 5.3r2.0, 5.3r3.0, 5.3r4.0, 5.3r4.1, 5.3r4.2, 5.3rx, or 9.0r1.0
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Check if VPN authentication during Windows Logon is configuredOpen Pulse Secure Client > Settings > Authentication > examine configuration for 'VPN authentication during Windows Logon' or similar option under connection profiles; alternatively check registry key HKCU\Software\Pulse Secure\Desktop\UI\General for logon-related settingsAffected if VPN authentication during Windows Logon feature is enabled or configured on the client
Environment is affected only if both an affected version (5.3r1.0 through 5.3r4.2, 5.3rx, or 9.0r1.0) is installed AND VPN authentication during Windows Logon is enabled.
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 Pulse Secure Client to version 5.3R5 or later. Consider disabling VPN authentication during Windows Logon if not operationally required, and ensure proper certificate validation is enforced to prevent proxy-based attacks.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-7572 — 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-2018-7572 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
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