In Pulse Secure Pulse Desktop Client 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1, there is a Privilege…
Priority LOW 29CWE-295Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Physical
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Spoofing
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-295.
Summary
In Pulse Secure Pulse Desktop Client 5.3RX before 5.3R5 and 9.0R1, there is a Privilege Escalation Vulnerability with Dynamic Certificate Trust.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00202 10th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix No fix listed No fixed version in the sources yet
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 9
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r1 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r1.1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r1.1 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r2:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r2 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r3:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r3 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r4:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r4 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r4.1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r4.1 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r4.2:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3r4.2 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3rx:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 5.3rx | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
| cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0r1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* | 9.0r1 | Vulnerable | Pulse Secure |
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r1 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r1.1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r1.1 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r2:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r2 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r3:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r3 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r4:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r4 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r4.1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r4.1 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3r4.2:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3r4.2 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:5.3rx:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 5.3rx Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
- cpe:2.3:a:pulsesecure:pulse_secure_desktop_client:9.0r1:*:*:*:*:windows:*:* Versions 9.0r1 Vulnerable ·Pulse Secure
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-16261
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-h8h6-xj3r-5rq7
References
More Pulse Secure Desktop Client vulnerabilities
- TI-2020-10343 A time-of-check time-of-use vulnerability in PulseSecureService.exe in Pulse Secure… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.0
- TI-2020-06657 A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 is vulnerable to the client… CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2020-06672 Path traversal in Pulse Secure Desktop Client CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2019-08391 In Pulse Secure Pulse Desktop Client and Network Connect, an attacker could access… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.1
- TI-2020-06659 A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client < 9.1R9 could allow the attacker to… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.5
- TI-2020-06668 A vulnerability in the Pulse Secure Desktop Client (Linux) < 9.1R9 could allow local attackers to escalate privilege. CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
Sources
- CVE-2018-16261 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-16261 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h8h6-xj3r-5rq7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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