Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-11510 lets an unauthenticated internet attacker read arbitrary files from vulnerable Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure VPN appliances. For executives, the business risk is credential and configuration exposure at a remote-access gateway. CISA lists this CVE in KEV, so treat exposed legacy PCS systems as urgently actionable.
Executive priority
Immediate priority for any exposed affected PCS gateway. This is a critical remote-access appliance vulnerability with known exploitation and potential credential exposure. Patch or remove exposure first, then investigate whether secrets or accounts require rotation.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-22 path traversal/arbitrary file read in Pulse Secure PCS 8.2 before 8.2R12.1, 8.3 before 8.3R7.1, and 9.0 before 9.0R3.4. Sources describe remote unauthenticated access via crafted URI. Public research and tooling references exist, but this analysis avoids operational exploit detail.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Pulse Secure PCS VPN portals remain internet-facing on affected 8.2, 8.3, or 9.0 releases. The provided affected-product table lacks CPE details, so confirm appliance versions from asset inventory, admin records, and vendor advisories.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV confirms known exploitation. Public references also include disclosure writeups, Black Hat research, Packet Storm entries, CERT guidance, and Bad Packets reporting on many exposed endpoints in 2019. Evidence supports real-world risk, but current exploitation volume is not established in the supplied bundle.
Researcher notes
Do not rely only on scanner banners; validate exact PCS release levels and exposure paths. The CVE title provides affected versions, while the structured affected field is incomplete. KEV status establishes exploitation, but the provided bundle does not prove current campaign activity.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected PCS versions to vendor-fixed releases or later.
- Review Pulse Secure SA44101 and CERT guidance before changing production gateways.
- Identify and retire unsupported internet-facing PCS appliances.
- Rotate exposed VPN credentials if vulnerable systems were reachable.
- Check vendor guidance for any required post-patch integrity steps.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Pulse Secure PCS assets and confirm exact software versions.
- Verify no internet-facing PCS remains below 8.2R12.1, 8.3R7.1, or 9.0R3.4.
- Review logs for suspicious access during the exposure window.
- Check for unexpected credential, session, or configuration access indicators.
- Validate remediation with authenticated administrative version checks.
Public sources used
Michael Williams reviewed this cited source version on .
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-22: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection 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 lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-11510 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
- 9.9 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:C/UI:N
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.
CISA KEV status
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/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:C/UI:N3.16Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
9.9CriticalVector: CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:C/UI:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://kb.pulsesecure.net/?atype=saCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Security_Advisories/SA44101/CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2019-0010CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://badpackets.net/over-14500-pulse-secure-vpn-endpoints-vulnerable-to-cve-2019-11510/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://i.blackhat.com/USA-19/Wednesday/us-19-Tsai-Infiltrating-Corporate-Intranet-Like-NSA.pdfCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- 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/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- [guacamole-user] 20190912 Re: [Guacamole hack attack?]CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- VU#927237CVE reference · third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT-VN
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-11510CVE reference · government-resource
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.