# CVE-2019-11538: Path traversal in n/a

> An authenticated attacker can access arbitrary files on Pulse Secure Pulse Connect Secure devices due to an NFS path traversal vulnerability.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AC:L/AV:N/A:N/C:H/I:N/PR:L/S:C/UI: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:** 26 Apr 2019
- **Updated:** 15 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9c6c-f33q-qhr3

## What is CVE-2019-11538?

CVE-2019-11538 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, published on 26 Apr 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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, an NFS problem could allow an authenticated attacker to access the contents of arbitrary files on the affected device.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-11538?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ivanti Connect Secure.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-11538?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-11538 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-11538 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ivanti Connect Secure

- [CVE-2021-22893](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-22893/): Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Use-After-Free (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-11510](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11510/): Ivanti Pulse Connect Secure Arbitrary File Read (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-21887](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21887/): Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Command Injection (critical 9.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-22457](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-22457/): Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-0282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-0282/): Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and ZTA Gateways Stack-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.0, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-11538 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-11538 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Ivanti Connect Secure, published on 26 Apr 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-11538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ivanti 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-2019-11538/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11538/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-11538
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11538
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-11538

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11538/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.