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Connect SecureApplication · Ivanti

CVE-2019-11509

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-06-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
In Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) before 8.1R15.1, 8.2 before 8.2R12.1, 8.3 before 8.3R7.1, and 9.0 before 9.0R3.4 and Pulse Policy Secure (PPS) before 5.1R15.1, 5.2 before 5.2R12.1, 5.3 before 5.3R15.1, 5.4 before 5.4R7.1, and 9.0 before 9.0R3.2, an authenticated attacker (via the admin web interface) can exploit Incorrect Access Control to execute arbitrary code on the appliance.

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 confidence

An authenticated attacker with access to the admin web interface of Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) or Pulse Policy Secure (PPS) can exploit incorrect access control to execute arbitrary code on the appliance. This vulnerability affects multiple version branches of PCS (8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.0) and PPS (5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 9.0) prior to their respective patched releases.

MitigationUpgrade to the patched versions: PCS 8.1R15.1/8.2R12.1/8.3R7.1/9.0R3.4 or PPS 5.1R15.1/5.2R12.1/5.3R15.1/5.4R7.1/9.0R3.2. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict admin web interface access to trusted IP addresses only and monitor for unauthorized administrative activity.

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
Connect SecureApplication
Affected:= 8.1= 8.2= 8.3= 9.0
Policy SecureApplication
Affected:= 9.0
Pulse Policy SecureApplication
Affected:= 5.2= 5.4

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed product and version
    Access the admin web interface and navigate to System > Status, or use the command line: 'show system information' or check /etc/pulse2/dsn/dsc.conf for version details
    Affected if Version matches 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, or 9.0 for PCS; or 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, or 9.0 for PPS and is below the patched releases (PCS 8.1R15.1/8.2R12.1/8.3R7.1/9.0R3.4 or PPS 5.1R15.1/5.2R12.1/5.3R15.1/5.4R7.1/9.0R3.2)
  2. Confirm admin web interface is enabled
    Check if the appliance responds on ports 443 or 8443 (default admin HTTPS ports) or review the admin interface status via the CLI command 'show admin web interface status'
    Affected if The admin web interface is accessible on any network interface (even internal)
  3. Review admin user accounts
    Log into the admin interface and navigate to Authentication > Users or use CLI 'show admin user' to list administrative accounts
    Affected if Unexpected or unauthorized admin accounts exist, indicating possible exploitation
  4. Check for evidence of exploitation attempts
    Review system logs under Maintenance > Troubleshooting > Logs > Admin Interface Access Log for unusual commands or API calls, especially to endpoints like /dana-admin/
    Affected if Log entries show arbitrary command execution, unexpected administrative actions, or suspicious API calls from admin users

Your environment is affected if you are running an unpatched version of Pulse Connect Secure (8.1, 8.2, 8.3, or 9.0) or Pulse Policy Secure (5.1-5.4, or 9.0) AND the admin web interface is accessible to the attacker.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to the patched versions: PCS 8.1R15.1/8.2R12.1/8.3R7.1/9.0R3.4 or PPS 5.1R15.1/5.2R12.1/5.3R15.1/5.4R7.1/9.0R3.2. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict admin web interface access to trusted IP addresses only and monitor for unauthorized administrative activity.

Fix this in Connect Secure Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-11509 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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