Cyber Resilience

CVE-2019-11539

RCE in Ivanti Connect Secure 8.1 … 9.0

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedRCECommand Injection
Published
26 April 2019
Modified
06 November 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 79 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2019-11539 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is an OS command injection flaw (CWE-78) present in the admin web interface of Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure versions 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4, 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1, 8.2RX before 8.2R12.1, and 8.1RX before 8.1R15.1, as well as Pulse Policy Secure versions 9.0RX before 9.0R3.2, 5.4RX before 5.4R7.1, 5.3RX before 5.3R12.1, 5.2RX before 5.2R12.1, and 5.1RX before 5.1R15.1. It carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.2 with network attack vector and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

An authenticated attacker with administrative privileges can exploit the flaw over the network to inject and execute arbitrary commands on the affected appliance, achieving full system compromise without user interaction.

Public references document working exploit code for the affected versions along with analysis of chained remote code execution paths that leverage this issue in SSL VPN deployments.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.4, 8.3RX before 8.3R7.1, 8.2RX before 8.2R12.1, and 8.1RX before 8.1R15.1 and Pulse Policy Secure version 9.0RX before 9.0R3.2, 5.4RX before 5.4R7.1, 5.3RX before 5.3R12.1, 5.2RX before 5.2R12.1, and 5.1RX before…

more

5.1R15.1, the admin web interface allows an authenticated attacker to inject and execute commands.

CWE(s)
CWE-78
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-8218Same product: Ivanti Connect Secureboth on KEV
CVE-2024-11005Same product: Ivanti Connect Secure
CVE-2024-11006Same product: Ivanti Connect Secure
CVE-2024-11007Same product: Ivanti Connect Secure
CVE-2026-10520Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV
CVE-2024-21887Same product: Ivanti Connect Secureboth on KEV
CVE-2020-8243Same product: Ivanti Connect Secureboth on KEV
CVE-2021-22900Same product: Ivanti Connect Secureboth on KEV
CVE-2023-46805Same product: Ivanti Connect Secureboth on KEV
CVE-2024-9474Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV

Affected Assets

ivanti
connect secure
8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 9.0
ivanti
policy secure
9.0
pulsesecure
pulse policy secure
5.1r1.0, 5.1r1.1, 5.1r10.0, 5.1r11.0, 5.1r11.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References