Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw affects VMware GemFire and Tanzu GemFire for VMs deployments where the JMX service is network-reachable. An authenticated malicious user could abuse credential handling to execute code remotely. The issue is critical because it can affect application integrity and availability, but the provided sources do not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for internet-connected, partner-accessible, or broadly reachable administrative networks first. This is critical severity, but it requires authenticated access, so urgency should track JMX exposure and account control strength.
Technical view
CVE-2019-11286 is a CWE-502 deserialization issue in GemFire JMX credential processing. Versions before the listed fixed releases do not properly restrict input to a network-exposed JMX service. A remote authenticated user can submit crafted credentials leading to remote code execution. CVSS v3.0 is 9.0 with high privilege required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations running affected VMware GemFire or Tanzu GemFire for VMs versions with JMX accessible over the network. Risk depends on whether untrusted or compromised authenticated users can reach that service.
Exploitation context
The source bundle marks KEV as false and provides no evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability still deserves urgent attention because authenticated remote code execution against distributed data infrastructure can disrupt business services or alter trusted application behavior.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are JMX network exposure, authentication requirement, and affected fixed-version boundaries. The public bundle does not include exploit telemetry, exploit code, or deeper protocol details, so validation should stay focused on version, service reachability, and vendor advisory alignment.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade VMware GemFire to 9.10.0, 9.9.1, 9.8.5, 9.7.5, or later as applicable.
- Upgrade Tanzu GemFire for VMs to 1.11.0, 1.10.1, 1.9.2, 1.8.2, or later as applicable.
- Restrict JMX network reachability to trusted administrative paths while patching.
- Review Tanzu advisory guidance before changing production clusters.
Validation and detection
- Inventory GemFire and Tanzu GemFire for VMs versions across all environments.
- Confirm whether JMX is reachable from non-administrative networks.
- Verify authenticated access paths and remove unnecessary accounts or privileges.
- Check upgrade evidence against the fixed version thresholds in the advisory.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-502: Code execution behavior lookup
Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-11286 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H2.36Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
9CriticalVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://tanzu.vmware.com/security/cve-2019-11286CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Deserialization of Untrusted Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.