CVE-2019-11543
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 · uneditedXSS exists in the admin web console in Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4, 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1, and 8.1RX before 8.1R15.1 and Pulse Policy Secure 9.0RX before 9.0R3.2, 5.4RX before 5.4R7.1, and 5.2RX before 5.2R12.1.
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 confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the admin web console of Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) and Pulse Policy Secure. An unauthenticated attacker could inject malicious JavaScript through the web interface that executes in the context of an authenticated administrator's session.
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= 9.0r1= 9.0r2= 9.0r2.1= 9.0r3= 9.0r3.1= 9.0r3.2= 9.0rx= 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:3.1/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 product typeAccess the admin web console login page (typically at /admin) or the system status page. Determine whether the device is running Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) or Pulse Policy Secure (PPS).Affected if The device is running Pulse Connect Secure or Pulse Policy Secure (or Ivanti Connect Secure, the renamed product).
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Determine the installed versionLog into the admin web console and navigate to System > Status or System > Configuration > Version. The version number will be displayed (for example: 8.3r1, 9.0r3, 5.2r7).Affected if The installed version matches any of the versions listed in the CVE affected products: PCS versions 8.1r1.0, 8.1rx, 8.3rx, 9.0r1, 9.0r2, 9.0r2.1, 9.0r3, 9.0r3.1, 9.0r3.2, 9.0rx; PPS versions 5.2r1.0 through 5.2r9.1; or Ivanti Connect Secure versions 8.1 or 8.3.
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Verify admin web console accessibilityConfirm that the admin web interface (typically on port 443 or 4433) is accessible from the network. This can be verified by attempting to reach the /admin endpoint or the login page from a browser or curl command.Affected if The admin web console is externally accessible or accessible to untrusted networks, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to inject the XSS payload.
You are affected if your device runs Pulse Connect Secure or Pulse Policy Secure (or Ivanti Connect Secure) version matching one listed in the CVE AND the admin web console is network-accessible to untrusted users.
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 the patched versions: PCS 9.0R3.4/8.3R7.1/8.1R15.1 or Policy Secure 9.0R3.2/5.4R7.1/5.2R12.1. Alternatively, apply vendor-supplied patches for the respective releases.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-11543 — 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-2019-11543 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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