Pulse Secure Desktop Client
CVE-2018-15726
MEDIUM
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization OS command sanitization, avoid shell exec
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 1 tactic: Execution The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS score of 5.3 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local attacker with access to the system could execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. |
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Alert meAnalysisAI
The Pulse Secure Desktop (macOS) 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1 has a Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
RemediationAI
No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Avoid passing user input to shell commands. Use language-specific APIs instead of shell execution. Apply strict input validation with allowlists.
Affects your stack
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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78), which allows attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. The Pulse Secure Desktop (macOS) 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1 has a Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. Affected products include: Pulsesecure Pulse Secure Desktop Client. Version information: before 5.3.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionNVD
The Pulse Secure Desktop (macOS) 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1 has a Privilege Escalation Vulnerability.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.
Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.
Affected Products (CPE)NVD
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GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB