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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2012-6595

HIGH · 9.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-08-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 4.0.x before 4.0.9 and 4.1.x before 4.1.2 allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary commands via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 34595.

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

The device-management CLI in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 4.0.x before 4.0.9 and 4.1.x before 4.1.2 contains a command injection vulnerability allowing remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary operating system commands. This is a privilege escalation flaw where admin-level users can break out of the CLI context to run OS-level commands with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 4.0.9 or later (for 4.0.x branches) or 4.1.2 or later (for 4.1.x branches). Additionally, restrict administrative access to trusted networks and enforce least-privilege admin accounts where possible.

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:= 4.0.0= 4.0.1= 4.0.2= 4.0.3= 4.0.4= 4.0.5= 4.0.6= 4.0.7= 4.0.8= 4.1.0= 4.1.1

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. Check installed PAN-OS version
    Access the firewall management interface or use the CLI command 'show system info' to retrieve the running PAN-OS version
    Affected if The version is 4.0.0 through 4.0.8, or 4.1.0 through 4.1.1
  2. Verify device-management CLI accessibility
    Confirm whether the device-management CLI module is enabled and accessible to admin users through the PAN-OS administrative interface
    Affected if The device-management CLI is accessible to administrator accounts
  3. Confirm administrative access method
    Review the firewall configuration to determine if remote administrative access via CLI is enabled (check management profile settings and service routes)
    Affected if Remote administrative access to the CLI is permitted from untrusted networks
  4. Identify admin user privileges
    Review the list of configured administrator accounts and their privilege levels in the PAN-OS web interface under Device > Administrators
    Affected if Multiple administrator accounts with full privileges exist and can access the CLI

A system is affected if it runs PAN-OS version 4.0.0-4.0.8 or 4.1.0-4.1.1 and allows authenticated administrators to access the device-management CLI remotely.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 4.0.9 or later (for 4.0.x branches) or 4.1.2 or later (for 4.1.x branches). Additionally, restrict administrative access to trusted networks and enforce least-privilege admin accounts where possible.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 4.0.9 or later (4.1.x users should upgrade to 4.1.2 or later)

  1. 1. Download PAN-OS 4.0.9 or later from the Palo Alto Networks support portal at security.paloaltonetworks.com
  2. 2. Review the PAN-OS upgrade guide and release notes for upgrade procedures
  3. 3. Back up the current PAN-OS configuration
  4. 4. Upload the PAN-OS 4.0.9 (or later) upgrade image through the web management interface or CLI
  5. 5. Initiate the upgrade and monitor for completion
  6. 6. Verify the system boots to the new version and confirm all services are operational
  7. 7. Validate that the configuration has been retained and test critical functionality
Caveat Review release notes for any deprecated features; ensure compatibility with connected security devices and plugins before upgrading

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2012-6595 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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