# CVE-2016-3985: Auth bypass in n/a

> Remote authenticated users can bypass intended access restrictions in Pulse Connect Secure RDP client session features.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Apr 2016
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x49x-hm58-9c2j

## What is CVE-2016-3985?

CVE-2016-3985 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure, published on 8 Apr 2016. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Terminal Services Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client session restrictions feature in Pulse Connect Secure (aka PCS) 8.1R7 and 8.2R1 allow remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-3985?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-3985?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-3985 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-3985 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-3985 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure

- [CVE-2018-5299](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-5299/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-11580](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11580/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2020-11582](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11582/): Other in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-11193](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11193/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-11196](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11196/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-3985 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-3985 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure, published on 8 Apr 2016. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-3985 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Pulsesecure Pulse Connect Secure. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3985/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3985/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-3985
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3985
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-3985

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3985/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.