Security Resilience

CVE-2019-19781

Path Traversal in Citrix Application Delivery Controller Firmware 10.5 … 13.0

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedPath Traversal
Published
27 December 2019
Modified
12 August 2026
KEV Added
03 November 2021
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2019-19781 is a critical-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Citrix Application Delivery Controller Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data Obfuscation (T1001); ranked in the top 0.0% 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.

CVE-2019-19781 is a directory traversal vulnerability, tracked under CWE-22, that affects Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway versions 10.5, 11.1, 12.0, 12.1, and 13.0. It received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network-accessible attack vectors with no required authentication or user interaction and full impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The flaw can be exploited remotely by unauthenticated attackers to traverse directories on affected appliances. Public exploit code demonstrates that successful traversal can be chained to achieve remote code execution on the target system.

The listed references consist of multiple Packet Storm entries that publish proof-of-concept code for directory traversal and remote code execution against the vulnerable Citrix products; no official mitigation guidance or patch details appear in the supplied references.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An issue was discovered in Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway 10.5, 11.1, 12.0, 12.1, and 13.0. They allow Directory Traversal.

CWE(s)
CWE-22
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

Threat-Actor AttributionAI

AnonOps
Critical Vulnerability in Citrix Application Delivery Controller, Gateway, and SD-WAN WANOP | CISA
NOTROBIN
Detecting Citrix CVE-2019-19781 | CISA
Google LLC (civil insider-recruitment defendant)
COVID-19 Exploited by Malicious Cyber Actors | CISA
Microsoft Corp. (Salesforce / Slack engineer recruitment claims)
COVID-19 Exploited by Malicious Cyber Actors | CISA
Darkhotel (G0012)
Iran-Based Threat Actor Exploits VPN Vulnerabilities | CISA
Fox Kitten (G0117)
Iran-Based Threat Actor Exploits VPN Vulnerabilities | CISA
APT1 (G0006)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
Deep Panda (G0009)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
APT3 (G0022)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
Winnti Group (G0044)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
menuPass (G0045)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
Leviathan (G0065)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
APT19 (G0073)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
APT41 (G0096)
Potential for China Cyber Response to Heightened U.S.–China Tensions | CISA
Dragonfly (G0035)
Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets | CISA
TeamSpy Crew
Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets | CISA
SolarWinds Compromise (C0024)
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Cyber Operations: Trends and Best Practices for Network Defenders | CISA
Apple Inc. (Masimo pulse-oximetry trade-secret 2020-2024)
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Cyber Operations: Trends and Best Practices for Network Defenders | CISA
APT29 (G0016)
Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Cyber Operations: Trends and Best Practices for Network Defenders | CISA
Equation (G0020)
Top Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities | CISA
CrowdStrike (McAfee / Symantec civil claims)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA
APT28 (G0007)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA
Sandworm Team (G0034)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA
The Magic
People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Exploit Network Providers and Devices | CISA
HAFNIUM (G0125)
Top CVEs Actively Exploited By People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors | CISA
SentinelOne (Cylance / BlackBerry civil claims)
Iran-based Cyber Actors Enabling Ransomware Attacks on US Organizations | CISA
Pay2Key
Iran-based Cyber Actors Enabling Ransomware Attacks on US Organizations | CISA
RansomHouse
Iran-based Cyber Actors Enabling Ransomware Attacks on US Organizations | CISA
br0k3r
Iran-based Cyber Actors Enabling Ransomware Attacks on US Organizations | CISA
l group
Top Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities | CISA

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001 Data Obfuscation Command And Control
Adversaries may obfuscate command and control traffic to make it more difficult to detect.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.001 Internet Connection Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may check for Internet connectivity on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1018 Remote System Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of other systems by IP address, hostname, or other logical identifier on a network that may be used for Lateral Movement from the current system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-8195Same product: Citrix Application Delivery Controller Firmwareboth on KEV
CVE-2022-41328Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV
CVE-2018-13379Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV
CVE-2019-11510Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV
CVE-2024-2552Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2024-48884Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2023-34298Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2018-14007Same vendor: Citrix
CVE-2024-21753Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2025-61624Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway

Affected Assets

citrix
application delivery controller firmware
10.5, 11.1, 12.0, 12.1, 13.0
citrix
netscaler gateway firmware
10.5, 11.1, 12.0, 12.1
citrix
gateway firmware
13.0

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)
  • V5.3.2

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.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

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-02 partial match
blocks

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
blocks

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References