dbcve.org
Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2012-6594

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-08-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1.10 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
The device-management command-line interface in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 3.1.11, 4.0.x before 4.0.8, and 4.1.x before 4.1.1 allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary commands via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 34299.

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 confidence

Command injection vulnerability in the PAN-OS device-management CLI allows authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary commands. This is a privilege escalation flaw where the CLI fails to properly sanitize input, enabling command execution beyond intended boundaries.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 3.1.11 or later (3.x branch), 4.0.8 or later (4.0.x branch), or 4.1.1 or later (4.1.x branch). Apply the appropriate patched release for your installed branch.

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
Affected:<= 3.1.10= 3.1.9= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.0.5= 4.0.6= 4.0.7= 4.1.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm PAN-OS device type
    Log into the web management interface and check the Device > Overview page, or run 'show system info' in the CLI to confirm the device is Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS.
    Affected if Device is not Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS (not applicable)
  2. Identify installed PAN-OS version
    In the web UI, go to Device > Overview and note the PAN-OS version displayed. Alternatively, in the CLI run 'show system info' and look for the 'OS Version' field.
    Affected if Version matches any of these: 3.1.9, 3.1.10, 4.0.0, 4.0.1, 4.0.2, 4.0.3, 4.0.4, 4.0.5, 4.0.6, 4.0.7, or 4.1.0, or any version <= 3.1.10 in the 3.x branch.
  3. Verify CLI access is enabled
    In the web UI, go to Device > Administrators and inspect each admin profile. Check if 'CLI' is enabled under the 'Profile' or 'Access' settings for any administrator account.
    Affected if CLI access is granted to any administrator account (the vulnerability requires authenticated CLI access to exploit)
  4. Check for suspicious CLI command history
    In the CLI, run 'show log system' with a time filter matching the period of interest, or review 'show cli history' if available, looking for unexpected commands that resemble shell execution patterns.
    Affected if Unexpected commands appear in logs that suggest arbitrary command execution beyond normal PAN-OS CLI operations

A user is affected if the device runs PAN-OS version 3.1.9-3.1.10, 4.0.0-4.0.7, or 4.1.0 AND has CLI access enabled for at least one administrator account.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.1.10
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 3.1.11 or later (3.x branch), 4.0.8 or later (4.0.x branch), or 4.1.1 or later (4.1.x branch). Apply the appropriate patched release for your installed branch.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 3.1.11 or later (3.1.x branch), 4.0.8 or later (4.0.x branch), or 4.1.1 or later (4.1.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current PAN-OS version by accessing the device management interface or running 'show system info' in the CLI
  2. 2. Based on your current version, determine the minimum fixed release: for 3.1.x branch upgrade to 3.1.11 or later; for 4.0.x branch upgrade to 4.0.8 or later; for 4.1.x branch upgrade to 4.1.1 or later
  3. 3. Download the appropriate PAN-OS image from the Palo Alto Networks support portal (requires valid support contract)
  4. 4. Review the PAN-OS upgrade and downgrade guide for compatibility considerations
  5. 5. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades may cause brief service interruption
  6. 6. Backup the current device configuration using 'save config to' or via the web interface
  7. 7. Upload the new PAN-OS image to the device via the web interface (Device > Software) or CLI
  8. 8. Install the upgrade and reboot the device
Caveat Review PAN-OS release notes for any configuration syntax changes or feature modifications between versions; some legacy features may be deprecated

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-6594 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-6594 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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