Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks
CVE-2012-6591
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe device-management command-line interface in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 3.1.10 and 4.0.x before 4.0.5 allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary commands via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 31116.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceCommand injection vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS device-management CLI allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary commands. The vulnerability exists in versions before 3.1.10 and 4.0.x before 4.0.5, requiring administrative credentials for exploitation.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Pan OsOperating system
<= 3.1.9= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check PAN-OS version via CLILog into the PAN-OS CLI as an administrator and run: show system infoAffected if The displayed version is 3.1.9 or lower, OR is 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, or 4.0.4
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Verify PAN-OS version via web interfaceLog into the PAN-OS web interface, go to Device > Setup > About, and note the PAN-OS version shownAffected if The version matches the affected ranges listed above (3.1.9 or lower, or 4.0.0-4.0.4)
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Confirm device management CLI accessibilityAttempt to access the PAN-OS CLI interface via SSH or console connection using administrative credentialsAffected if The CLI is accessible and accepts administrative authentication (required condition for exploitation)
You are affected if your PAN-OS version is 3.1.9 or earlier, or any version from 4.0.0 through 4.0.4, and your administrative CLI is accessible to authenticated users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade PAN-OS to version 3.1.10 or later, or 4.0.5 or later. Restrict administrative access to trusted personnel and monitor CLI activity for suspicious commands.
PAN-OS 3.1.10 or later (for 3.x branch); PAN-OS 4.0.5 or later (for 4.0.x branch)
- Backup the current PAN-OS configuration
- Download PAN-OS 3.1.10 or later for the 3.1.x branch, or PAN-OS 4.0.5 or later for the 4.0.x branch from the Palo Alto Networks support portal
- Upload the PAN-OS upgrade image to the device via the web interface or SCP
- Initiate the upgrade through the Device > Operations tab or CLI
- Wait for the upgrade to complete and the device to reboot
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the PAN-OS version
- Verify the vulnerability is resolved by confirming the device responds normally
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Pan Os
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-6591 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-6591 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data