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CVE-2020-2021

PAN-OS: Authentication Bypass in SAML Authentication

Exploited in the wild. In CISA KEV since 2022‑03‑25. Fixed versions are out.

CVSS 3.110.0CriticalEPSS percentile91st4.4% chance in 30 daysCISA KEVListedsince 2022-03-25, due 2022-04-15
No public exploit knownFix2 products4 fixed builds listed below

Published Updated Sources: CVE.org, NVD, BDU

NVD CVE.org

What to do

Find your product and version, then upgrade to the build on the right.

  • Palo Alto Networks PAN-OSAffected: 8.0.*Upgrade to: not statedAffected: ≥ 8.1, < 8.1.15Upgrade to: 8.1.15Affected: ≥ 9.0, < 9.0.9Upgrade to: 9.0.9Affected: ≥ 9.1, < 9.1.3Upgrade to: 9.1.3Fixed builds7.1.*Stated by: CVE record
  • Paloaltonetworks Pan-osAffected: ≥ 8.0.0, ≤ 8.0.20Upgrade to: after 8.0.20Stated by: NVD

Versions as the sources state them. Full version matrix after sign-in

Check it yourselfA free OpenVAS check exists for this CVE. Run it against your hosts.Is your organisation exposed?Request an assessment to establish which checks fit your systems.

Coverage timeline

0 publishers

  1. Added to CISA KEV catalog

    ·CISA KEV

Sourced from public security reporting — each date is when it was published, not when it happened.

What it is

From the CVE record

When Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) authentication is enabled and the 'Validate Identity Provider Certificate' option is disabled (unchecked), improper verification of signatures in PAN-OS SAML authentication enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker to access protected resources. The attacker must have network access to the vulnerable server to exploit this vulnerability. This issue affects PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15, and all versions of PAN-OS 8.0 (EOL). This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1. This issue cannot be exploited if SAML is not used for authentication. This issue cannot be exploited if the 'Validate Identity Provider Certificate' option is enabled (checked) in the SAML Identity Provider Server Profile. Resources that can be protected by SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) authentication are: GlobalProtect Gateway, GlobalProtect Portal, GlobalProtect Clientless VPN, Authentication and Captive Portal, PAN-OS next-generation firewalls (PA-Series, VM-Series) and Panorama web interfaces, Prisma Access In the case of GlobalProtect Gateways, GlobalProtect Portal, Clientless VPN, Captive Portal, and Prisma Access, an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the affected servers can gain access to protected resources if allowed by configured authentication and Security policies. There is no impact on the integrity and availability of the gateway, portal or VPN server. An attacker cannot inspect or tamper with sessions of regular users. In the worst case, this is a critical severity vulnerability with a CVSS Base Score of 10.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N). In the case of PAN-OS and Panorama web interfaces, this issue allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the PAN-OS or Panorama web interfaces to log in as an administrator and perform administrative actions. In the worst-case scenario, this is a critical severity vulnerability with a CVSS Base Score of 10.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H). If the web interfaces are only accessible to a restricted management network, then the issue is lowered to a CVSS Base Score of 9.6 (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H). Palo Alto Networks is not aware of any malicious attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

In plain language

No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.

Exploitation

Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.

EPSS91st
CISA KEV
CISA KEV

Listed as exploited in the wild since 2022-03-25.

US federal agencies must remediate by 2022-04-15.

Known use in ransomware campaigns.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploits

No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.

EPSS

4.4% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 91st percentile of scored CVEs.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.

Lifecycle

9 events over 2187 days, from the signal feeds we watch.

  1. OpenVAS check added
  2. EPSS band changemoderate → low
  3. Patch availableworkaround available, record updated
  4. Added to CISA KEVransomware campaign
  5. Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped

Affected products

And 1 more affected product. See all after sign-in

Technical detail

CVSS 3.1 vector

Open in the CVSS calculator

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Scored 10.0 by NVD.

How it is reached

  • Attack Vector NetworkExploitable remotely over the network without any special conditions
  • Attack Complexity LowNo special conditions — the attack can be reliably reproduced
  • Privileges Required NoneNo authentication required — anyone can exploit this
  • User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation

Scope

  • Scope ChangedThe exploit can affect other components (e.g. sandbox escape, host compromise from VM)

Impact if exploited

  • Confidentiality HighTotal information disclosure — all data in the component is compromised
  • Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
  • Availability HighTotal denial of service — the component is completely unavailable

Weaknesses

ATT&CK techniques

Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.

Sources

References in the record

And 2 more references. See all after sign-in

Watch the software you run.

My Stack ranks new CVEs for your products by real-world exploitation, so the next exploited one reaches you without reading every advisory.

We'll flag the next CVE, public exploit or patch for PAN-OS, not every advisory. This one: actively exploited.