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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022. Known ransomware use
Connect SecureApplication · Ivanti

CVE-2019-11539

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-04-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit 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 version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4, 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1, 8.2RX before 8.2R12.1, and 8.1RX before 8.1R15.1 and Pulse Policy Secure version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.2, 5.4RX before 5.4R7.1, 5.3RX before 5.3R12.1, 5.2RX before 5.2R12.1, and 5.1RX before 5.1R15.1, the admin web interface allows an authenticated attacker to inject and execute commands.

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

Authenticated command injection vulnerability in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure and Pulse Policy Secure admin web interfaces allows remote attackers to inject and execute arbitrary OS commands on the underlying system via specially crafted requests.

MitigationUpgrade to the patched versions (9.0R3.4+, 8.3R7.1+, 8.2R12.1+, 8.1R15.1+ for PCS; 9.0R3.2+, 5.4R7.1+, 5.3R12.1+, 5.2R12.1+, 5.1R15.1+ for PPS). If immediate patching is not possible, severely restrict admin web interface access to trusted IP ranges 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:= 5.1r1.0= 5.1r1.1= 5.1r2.0= 5.1r2.1= 5.1r3.0= 5.1r3.2= 5.1r4.0= 5.1r5.0= 5.1r6.0= 5.1r7.0= 5.1r8.0= 5.1r9.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Verify the admin web interface is running and accessible
    Attempt to access the Pulse Secure admin interface URLs (typically /admin, /dana-admin, or on ports 443, 8443, 4433) from your monitoring position. Check if the login page responds.
    Affected if The admin web interface responds and is reachable from your detection point. Note: Even internal accessibility counts as exposed if not restricted to trusted IPs.
  2. Identify the installed product version
    Log into the admin web interface and navigate to System > Status or System > Configuration > Version. Alternatively, check the product release notes or the system dashboard for the exact version number (for example: 9.0, 8.3, 8.2, 8.1, or the 5.1Rx series for PPS).
    Affected if The version displayed matches any of these: Ivanti Connect Secure 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, or 9.0; Ivanti Policy Secure 9.0; Pulse Policy Secure 5.1r1.0 through 5.1r9.0.
  3. Confirm the admin interface is network-accessible beyond trusted IPs
    Review network firewall rules, VPN policies, or access control lists that govern reachability to the admin web interface (port 443, 8443, etc). Determine if hosts outside your trusted internal IP ranges can reach the admin URLs.
    Affected if The admin interface is accessible from networks beyond your defined trusted IP ranges, increasing exposure to remote attackers.
  4. Verify admin authentication is enabled
    Confirm that the admin web interface requires authentication (check for login form at /dana-admin/auth/admin.cgi or similar admin endpoints). Ensure session tokens or credentials are required for access.
    Affected if The admin interface accepts authentication and is not blocked entirely. This condition is necessary because CVE-2019-11539 requires authenticated access to exploit.

Your environment is affected if you are running any of the listed vulnerable versions AND the admin web interface is accessible (even internally) without being restricted to highly trusted IP ranges only.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to the patched versions (9.0R3.4+, 8.3R7.1+, 8.2R12.1+, 8.1R15.1+ for PCS; 9.0R3.2+, 5.4R7.1+, 5.3R12.1+, 5.2R12.1+, 5.1R15.1+ for PPS). If immediate patching is not possible, severely restrict admin web interface access to trusted IP ranges and monitor for unauthorized administrative activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pulse Connect Secure: 9.0R3.4/8.3R7.1/8.2R12.1/8.1R15.1 or later; Pulse Policy Secure: 9.0R3.2/5.4R7.1/5.3R12.1/5.2R12.1/5.1R15.1 or later

  1. Identify the currently installed Pulse Secure product (Connect Secure or Policy Secure) and exact version
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.0 for Connect Secure; 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 9.0 for Policy Secure)
  3. For Connect Secure 9.0Rx: upgrade to 9.0R3.4 or later
  4. For Connect Secure 8.3Rx: upgrade to 8.3R7.1 or later
  5. For Connect Secure 8.2Rx: upgrade to 8.2R12.1 or later
  6. For Connect Secure 8.1Rx: upgrade to 8.1R15.1 or later
  7. For Policy Secure 9.0Rx: upgrade to 9.0R3.2 or later
  8. For Policy Secure 5.4Rx: upgrade to 5.4R7.1 or later

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Connect Secure Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
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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-2019-11539 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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