{"id":"CVE-2019-11510","published":"2019-05-08T17:29:00Z","modified":"2026-06-17T02:13:04Z","title":"Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability","vendor":"Ivanti","product":"Pulse Connect Secure","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"In Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure (PCS) 8.2 before 8.2R12.1, 8.3 before 8.3R7.1, and 9.0 before 9.0R3.4, an unauthenticated remote attacker can send a specially crafted URI to perform an arbitrary file reading vulnerability .","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure contains an arbitrary file read flaw, stemming from improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, affecting versions 8.2 before 8.2R12.1, 8.3 before 8.3R7.1, and 9.0 before 9.0R3.4. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit it by sending a specially crafted URI, requiring only network access with no authentication or user interaction.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-29T07:53:06Z"},"cvss":{"score":10.0,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.99999,"percentile":0.99995,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2022-05-03","ransomware":true,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"Reference CISA's ED 21-03 (https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/ed-21-03-mitigate-pulse-connect-secure-product-vulnerabilities) for further guidance and requirements. Note: The due date for addressing this vulnerability aligns with the requirements outlined in ED 21-03. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11510","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2019-05-01","exploitedFirstSeen":"2019-05-01","ransomware":true,"evidence":[{"url":"https://digital.nhs.uk/cyber-alerts/2019/cc-3044","date":"2019-05-01"},{"url":"https://www.volexity.com/blog/2019/09/11/vulnerable-private-networks-corporate-vpns-exploited-in-the-wild/","date":"2019-09-11"},{"url":"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/alert-vpn-vulnerabilities","date":"2019-10-02"},{"url":"https://www.tenable.com/blog/cve-2019-11510-critical-pulse-connect-secure-vulnerability-used-in-sodinokibi-ransomware","date":"2020-01-07"},{"url":"https://www.clearskysec.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/ClearSky-Fox-Kitten-Campaign.pdf","date":"2020-02-01"},{"url":"https://www.dragos.com/wp-content/uploads/The-ICS-Threat-Landscape.pdf","date":"2020-02-27"},{"url":"https://cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa20-010a","date":"2020-04-15"},{"url":"https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/threat-brief-maze-ransomware-activities/","date":"2020-05-08"},{"url":"https://cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa20-133a","date":"2020-05-12"},{"url":"https://go.group-ib.com/rs/689-LRE-818/images/Group-IB_Ransomware_Uncovered_whitepaper_eng.pdf","date":"2020-05-27"}],"evidenceTotal":999,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-22","name":"Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory"}],"references":[{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154176/Pulse-Secure-SSL-VPN-8.1R15.1-8.2-8.3-9.0-Arbitrary-File-Disclosure.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154231/Pulse-Secure-SSL-VPN-File-Disclosure-NSE.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108073","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"https://badpackets.net/over-14500-pulse-secure-vpn-endpoints-vulnerable-to-cve-2019-11510/","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://devco.re/blog/2019/09/02/attacking-ssl-vpn-part-3-the-golden-Pulse-Secure-ssl-vpn-rce-chain-with-Twitter-as-case-study/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://i.blackhat.com/USA-19/Wednesday/us-19-Tsai-Infiltrating-Corporate-Intranet-Like-NSA.pdf","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://kb.pulsesecure.net/?atype=sa","tags":["Not Applicable","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44101/","tags":["Broken Link","Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ff5fa1837b6bd1b24d18a42faa75e165a4573dbe2d434910c15fd08a%40%3Cuser.guacamole.apache.org%3E","tags":["Mailing List"]},{"url":"https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2019-0010","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/927237","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154176/Pulse-Secure-SSL-VPN-8.1R15.1-8.2-8.3-9.0-Arbitrary-File-Disclosure.html","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154231/Pulse-Secure-SSL-VPN-File-Disclosure-NSE.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108073","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"https://badpackets.net/over-14500-pulse-secure-vpn-endpoints-vulnerable-to-cve-2019-11510/","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://devco.re/blog/2019/09/02/attacking-ssl-vpn-part-3-the-golden-Pulse-Secure-ssl-vpn-rce-chain-with-Twitter-as-case-study/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://i.blackhat.com/USA-19/Wednesday/us-19-Tsai-Infiltrating-Corporate-Intranet-Like-NSA.pdf","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://kb.pulsesecure.net/?atype=sa","tags":["Not Applicable","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44101/","tags":["Broken Link","Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ff5fa1837b6bd1b24d18a42faa75e165a4573dbe2d434910c15fd08a%40%3Cuser.guacamole.apache.org%3E","tags":["Mailing List"]},{"url":"https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2019-0010","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/927237","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-11510","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1133","name":"External Remote Services","tactics":["initial-access","persistence"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev","ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Improper Access Control; CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"CVE 2019-11510 Pulse Secure Connect is vulnerable to unauthenticated arbitrary file disclosure. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain access to administrative credentials. ","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Improper Access Control","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"CVE 2019-11510 Pulse Secure Connect is vulnerable to unauthenticated arbitrary file disclosure. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain access to administrative credentials. ","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1083","name":"File and Directory Discovery","tactics":["discovery"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev","ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Improper Access Control; CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"secondary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"CVE 2019-11510 Pulse Secure Connect is vulnerable to unauthenticated arbitrary file disclosure. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain access to administrative credentials. ","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1552.001","name":"Credentials In Files","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Improper Access Control","mappingType":"secondary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"CVE 2019-11510 Pulse Secure Connect is vulnerable to unauthenticated arbitrary file disclosure. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain access to administrative credentials. ","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1212","name":"Exploitation for Credential Access","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 \"Uncategorized\" mapping (not staged by impact)"}],"reports":[{"id":"SRC-f144807c3c05fbc98a1a","title":"Ransomware as a service: Understanding the cybercrime gig economy and how to protect yourself","publisher":"microsoft.com","url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/05/09/ransomware-as-a-service-understanding-the-cybercrime-gig-economy-and-how-to-protect-yourself/","date":"2022-05-09","mentions":[{"quote":"Pulse Secure VPN systems affected by CVE-2019-11510, CVE-2020-8260, CVE-2020-8243, CVE-2021-22893, CVE-2021-22894, CVE-2021-22899, and CVE-2021-22900","start":62242,"end":62391}]},{"id":"SRC-cc205ca91d4f5c5b85cc","title":"Iran-Based Threat Actor Exploits VPN Vulnerabilities","publisher":"cisa.gov","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/cybersecurity-advisories/aa20-259a","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"CISA and the FBI have observed the threat actor exploiting multiple CVEs, including CVE-2019-11510, CVE-2019-11539, CVE-2019-19781, and CVE-2020-5902.","start":1953,"end":2103}]},{"id":"SRC-a69a17064744ac89d968","title":"AA20-258A: Chinese Ministry of State Security-Affiliated Cyber Threat Actor Activity","publisher":"us-cert.cisa.gov","url":"https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/aa20-258a","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"CVE-2019-11510: Pulse Secure VPN Servers","start":9147,"end":9187},{"quote":"CISA has conducted multiple incident response engagements at Federal Government and commercial entities where the threat actors exploited CVE-2019-11510—an arbitrary file reading vulnerability affecting Pulse Secure VPN appliances—to gain access to victim networks.","start":9190,"end":9455},{"quote":"Although Pulse Secure released patches for CVE-2019-11510 in April 2019, CISA observed incidents where compromised Active Directory credentials were used months after the victim organization patched their VPN appliance.[9]","start":9456,"end":9678},{"quote":"CISA also observed the threat actors scanning for known vulnerable network appliance CVE-2019-11510.","start":10337,"end":10437},{"quote":"CVE-2019-11510","start":21845,"end":21859}]},{"id":"SRC-8b6e5f3c2592261e3f88","title":"Advisory further TTPs associated with SVR cyber actors","publisher":"ncsc.gov.uk","url":"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/Advisory-further-TTPs-associated-with-SVR-cyber-actors.pdf","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"• CVE-2019-11510 Pulse Secure","start":2715,"end":2744}]},{"id":"SRC-6a1b1e8f3a7b99e55bf0","title":"Advisory: APT29 targets","publisher":"ncsc.gov.uk","url":"https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/Advisory-APT29-targets-COVID-19-vaccine-development-V1-1.pdf","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"• CVE-2019-11510 Pulse Secure [2]","start":3149,"end":3182}]},{"id":"SRC-32e6cf5c407f3cfe12fc","title":"AA21-200B: Chinese State-Sponsored Cyber Operations: Observed TTPs","publisher":"us-cert.cisa.gov","url":"https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/alerts/aa21-200b","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"Many exploits can be mitigated by applying available patches for vulnerabilities (such as CVE-2019-11510, CVE-2019-19781, and CVE-2020-5902) affecting external remote services.","start":20743,"end":20919}]}],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2019-3183","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2019-3183","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2021-11-03","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[{"id":47297,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/47297","title":"Pulse Secure 8.1R15.1/8.2/8.3/9.0 SSL VPN - Arbitrary File Disclosure (Metasploit)","type":"webapps","platform":"multiple","date":"2019-08-21","verified":false,"provenance":"source"}],"exploitSources":{"exploitdb":{"count":1,"earliest":"2019-08-21"},"pocGithub":{"count":12,"skipped":1,"earliest":"2019-08-21","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/projectzeroindia/CVE-2019-11510","repos":[{"name":"projectzeroindia/CVE-2019-11510","url":"https://github.com/projectzeroindia/CVE-2019-11510","stars":359,"created":"2019-08-21"},{"name":"BishopFox/pwn-pulse","url":"https://github.com/BishopFox/pwn-pulse","stars":132,"created":"2019-09-09"},{"name":"jas502n/CVE-2019-11510-1","url":"https://github.com/jas502n/CVE-2019-11510-1","stars":52,"created":"2019-08-27"},{"name":"imjdl/CVE-2019-11510-poc","url":"https://github.com/imjdl/CVE-2019-11510-poc","stars":50,"created":"2019-08-22"},{"name":"cisagov/check-your-pulse","url":"https://github.com/cisagov/check-your-pulse","stars":28,"created":"2020-04-16"}]},"metasploit":[{"name":"Pulse Secure VPN Arbitrary File Disclosure","module":"auxiliary/gather/pulse_secure_file_disclosure","type":"auxiliary","disclosureDate":"2019-04-24","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/pulse_secure_file_disclosure.rb"}],"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2019-11510","name":"Pulse Connect Secure SSL VPN Arbitrary File Read","severity":"critical","path":"http/cves/2019/CVE-2019-11510.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2019/CVE-2019-11510.yaml"}],"first":{"date":"2019-04-24","source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/pulse_secure_file_disclosure.rb"},"provenance":"source"},"detections":{"cveRules":[{"title":"Pulse Secure Attack CVE-2019-11510","id":"2dbc10d7-a797-49a8-8776-49efa6442e60","level":"critical","status":"test","path":"rules-emerging-threats/2019/Exploits/CVE-2019-11510/web_cve_2019_11510_pulsesecure_exploit.yml","url":"https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2019/Exploits/CVE-2019-11510/web_cve_2019_11510_pulsesecure_exploit.yml","techniques":["T1190"]}]},"exploitRefs":["http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154176/Pulse-Secure-SSL-VPN-8.1R15.1-8.2-8.3-9.0-Arbitrary-File-Disclosure.html","https://devco.re/blog/2019/09/02/attacking-ssl-vpn-part-3-the-golden-Pulse-Secure-ssl-vpn-rce-chain-with-Twitter-as-case-study/","http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154231/Pulse-Secure-SSL-VPN-File-Disclosure-NSE.html"],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1133"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1059"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"secondary","techniques":["T1552.001","T1083"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1212"],"provenance":"source","lowConfidence":true}],"timeline":[{"date":"2019-04-24","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: Metasploit; later: Exploit-DB 2019-08-21, PoC-in-GitHub 2019-08-21","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/gather/pulse_secure_file_disclosure.rb","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2019-05-01","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://digital.nhs.uk/cyber-alerts/2019/cc-3044","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2019-05-08","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11510","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV (known ransomware use)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2021-11-03","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2019-3183","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-05-09","kind":"report","label":"Named in microsoft.com: Ransomware as a service: Understanding the cybercrime gig economy and how to protect yourself","url":"https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2022/05/09/ransomware-as-a-service-understanding-the-cybercrime-gig-economy-and-how-to-protect-yourself/","provenance":"machine"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":null,"firstExploitFrom":"Metasploit","daysToKev":910},"priority":{"score":90.0,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 2740 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":10.0,"detail":"CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV: Known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":20.0,"detail":"percentile 1.0000"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":10.0,"detail":"6 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"2 NVD references tagged Exploit; 1 Exploit-DB entry; 1 NVD exploit link; 12 PoC-in-GitHub repos; 1 Metasploit module; 1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX 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