📄 Description (English)
Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability — Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure contains an arbitrary file read vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker with network access via HTTPS to send a specially crafted URI.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
CVE-2019-11510 is a critical arbitrary file read vulnerability in Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure VPN that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to read sensitive files, including credential stores and configuration files, via a specially crafted HTTPS URI. This vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild since its disclosure and is included in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Attackers can leverage stolen credentials to achieve full network compromise, making this an extremely high-priority threat. The combination of a public exploit, active exploitation, and widespread VPN deployment makes this one of the most dangerous vulnerabilities for enterprise environments.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 13, 2026 10:33
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations relying on Pulse Connect Secure for remote access VPN are critically exposed. Banking and financial institutions regulated by SAMA that use Pulse Secure for employee and third-party remote access face credential theft leading to unauthorized access to core banking systems. Government entities under NCA oversight using Pulse Secure as their primary remote access gateway risk exposure of administrative credentials and sensitive government data. Energy sector organizations including Saudi Aramco and SABIC that deployed Pulse Secure for OT/IT remote access face potential lateral movement into critical infrastructure. Telecom providers such as STC and Mobily using Pulse Secure for network management access are at risk of network infrastructure compromise. Healthcare organizations using Pulse Secure for remote clinical access face patient data exposure. Given Saudi Arabia's heavy reliance on VPN solutions for remote workforce connectivity, especially post-COVID, the blast radius of this vulnerability is exceptionally wide across all critical sectors.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Banking
Government
Energy
Telecom
Healthcare
Defense
Education
Transportation
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
9.7
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS (within 24 hours):
1. Identify all Pulse Connect Secure appliances in your environment and check version numbers immediately.
2. Isolate or take offline any unpatched Pulse Secure appliances if patching cannot be done immediately.
3. Assume credential compromise — force password resets for ALL users who authenticated via Pulse Secure, including service accounts.
4. Review VPN logs for exploitation indicators: look for URI patterns containing '/dana-na/../dana/html5acc/guacamole/' or similar path traversal strings.
5. Check for unauthorized access to /etc/passwd and session files on the appliance.
PATCHING GUIDANCE:
1. Apply Ivanti/Pulse Secure patches: upgrade to PCS 8.1R15.1, 8.2R12.1, 8.3R7.1, 9.0R3.4, or 9.1R1 or later.
2. Follow Ivanti's official security advisory SA44101 for complete patching instructions.
3. After patching, use the Pulse Secure Integrity Tool to verify appliance integrity.
COMPENSATING CONTROLS (if patching is delayed):
1. Restrict access to Pulse Secure management interfaces to trusted IP ranges only.
2. Implement WAF rules to block path traversal patterns targeting Pulse Secure URIs.
3. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all VPN accounts to reduce impact of credential theft.
4. Monitor for anomalous authentication attempts from unusual geolocations or IP addresses.
DETECTION RULES:
1. SIEM alert: HTTP requests containing '/../' or '%2F..%2F' targeting Pulse Secure appliance IPs.
2. Monitor for access to sensitive files: /etc/passwd, /data/runtime/mtmp/system.cfg.
3. Deploy Snare/Suricata rule: alert tcp any any -> $VPN_SERVERS 443 (content:"/dana-na/../"; msg:"Pulse Secure CVE-2019-11510 Exploit Attempt"; sid:9001151;).
4. Check threat intelligence feeds for IOCs associated with APT groups exploiting this CVE (APT41, REvil affiliates).
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية (خلال 24 ساعة):
1. تحديد جميع أجهزة Pulse Connect Secure في بيئتك والتحقق من أرقام الإصدارات فوراً.
2. عزل أو إيقاف تشغيل أي أجهزة Pulse Secure غير مُرقَّعة إذا تعذّر التصحيح الفوري.
3. افتراض اختراق بيانات الاعتماد — فرض إعادة تعيين كلمات المرور لجميع المستخدمين الذين سجّلوا الدخول عبر Pulse Secure، بما في ذلك حسابات الخدمة.
4. مراجعة سجلات VPN للكشف عن مؤشرات الاستغلال: البحث عن أنماط URI تحتوي على مسارات اجتياز مثل '/dana-na/../dana/html5acc/guacamole/'.
5. التحقق من الوصول غير المصرح به إلى ملفات /etc/passwd وملفات الجلسة على الجهاز.
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. تطبيق تحديثات Ivanti/Pulse Secure: الترقية إلى الإصدارات PCS 8.1R15.1 أو 8.2R12.1 أو 8.3R7.1 أو 9.0R3.4 أو 9.1R1 أو أحدث.
2. اتباع النشرة الأمنية الرسمية SA44101 من Ivanti للحصول على تعليمات التصحيح الكاملة.
3. بعد التصحيح، استخدام أداة Pulse Secure Integrity Tool للتحقق من سلامة الجهاز.
ضوابط التعويض (في حال تأخر التصحيح):
1. تقييد الوصول إلى واجهات إدارة Pulse Secure على نطاقات IP موثوقة فقط.
2. تطبيق قواعد WAF لحظر أنماط اجتياز المسار التي تستهدف URIs الخاصة بـ Pulse Secure.
3. تفعيل المصادقة متعددة العوامل (MFA) على جميع حسابات VPN للحد من تأثير سرقة بيانات الاعتماد.
4. مراقبة محاولات المصادقة الشاذة من مواقع جغرافية أو عناوين IP غير معتادة.
قواعد الكشف:
1. تنبيه SIEM: طلبات HTTP تحتوي على '/../' أو '%2F..%2F' تستهدف عناوين IP لأجهزة Pulse Secure.
2. مراقبة الوصول إلى الملفات الحساسة: /etc/passwd و/data/runtime/mtmp/system.cfg.
3. نشر قاعدة Suricata: تنبيه لأي طلب TCP يحتوي على '/dana-na/../' موجّه لخوادم VPN على المنفذ 443.
4. مراجعة موجزات استخبارات التهديدات للكشف عن مؤشرات الاختراق المرتبطة بمجموعات APT التي تستغل هذه الثغرة.
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC-1-4-2: Cybersecurity Vulnerability Management
ECC-1-3-2: Cybersecurity Patch Management
ECC-2-2-1: Network Security Controls
ECC-2-3-1: Remote Access Security
ECC-1-5-1: Cybersecurity Incident Management
ECC-2-1-3: Identity and Access Management
🔵 SAMA CSF
3.3.3: Vulnerability Management
3.3.5: Patch Management
3.2.5: Remote Access Control
3.3.6: Penetration Testing
3.4.2: Cybersecurity Incident Management
3.2.3: Access Control Management
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
A.8.8: Management of Technical Vulnerabilities
A.8.20: Network Security
A.8.22: Segregation of Networks
A.5.24: Information Security Incident Management
A.8.5: Secure Authentication
A.8.15: Logging
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
Requirement 6.3.3: All system components are protected from known vulnerabilities by installing applicable security patches
Requirement 8.2: User identification and authentication controls
Requirement 10.2: Audit log implementation
Requirement 11.3: External and internal vulnerability scanning
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Ivanti:Pulse Connect Secure