CVE-2018-7572

Pulse Secure Client 9.0R1 and 5.3RX before 5.3R5, when configured to authenticate VPN users during Windows Logon, can allow attackers to bypass Windows authentication and execute commands on the system with the privileges of Pulse Secure Client. The attacker must interrupt the client's network connectivity, and trigger a connection to a crafted proxy server with an invalid SSL certificate that allows certification-manager access, leading to the ability to browse local files and execute local programs.

Published: 2018-09-12 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-7572 is rated Low Risk (29.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.04%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-7572

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 0.09% 0.04% -0.05%
2 2025-03-29 0.04% 0.09% +0.05%
3 2025-03-17 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-7572

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.8 3.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:P)
Hands-on access—USB, keyboard, opening the case—not something you do purely over the wire.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 0.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-7572

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-7572

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r1.0 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r1.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r2.0 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r3.0 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r4.0 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r4.1 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3r4.2 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3r4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 5.3rx cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:5.3rx:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
pulsesecure pulse_secure_desktop 9.0r1.0 cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop:9.0r1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-7572

cvelogic Threat Intelligence