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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2012-6599

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 4.0.8 and 4.1.x before 4.1.1 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary commands via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 33476.

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 remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary operating system commands. The flaw affects PAN-OS 4.0.x before 4.0.8 and 4.1.x before 4.1.1. A CVSS score of 9 indicates network-exploitable, low-complexity attacks with complete system compromise potential.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 4.0.8 or 4.1.1 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management interface access to trusted administrative networks only.

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= 4.1.0

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. Identify the device is running PAN-OS
    Access the device CLI or administrative web interface and run 'show system info' or check the device identification in the management interface to confirm the product is Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS.
    Affected if The device is not running PAN-OS (the vulnerability only affects PAN-OS).
  2. Determine the PAN-OS version
    Run the command 'show system info' in the PAN-OS CLI or check the version displayed in the web administrative interface under Device > Setup > Management.
    Affected if The installed version is 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 (any version before 4.0.8 in the 4.0.x branch or before 4.1.1 in the 4.1.x branch).
  3. Verify the management interface is accessible
    Attempt to reach the PAN-OS management interface via SSH on port 443 or 4433, or verify that the management IP is reachable from network segments. Check the management interface configuration with 'show interface management' in the CLI.
    Affected if The device management interface is reachable from untrusted networks (the flaw is exploitable by remote authenticated users).
  4. Confirm administrative authentication is enabled
    Check the authentication settings in the web interface under Device > Authentication Settings, or verify local admin accounts exist with 'show admins' in the CLI. Confirm that remote authentication (RADIUS, TACACS+, LDAP) is configured if applicable.
    Affected if Remote administrative access is enabled and users can authenticate to the device (the command injection requires authenticated access to the management CLI).

The environment is affected if the device runs PAN-OS versions 4.0.0 through 4.0.7 or 4.1.0 and has its management interface accessible for remote authenticated administrative access.

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 4.0.8 or 4.1.1 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management interface access to trusted administrative networks only.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 4.0.8 or later (or PAN-4.1.1 or later for the 4.1 branch)

  1. 1. Download PAN-OS 4.0.8 or later (or 4.1.1 or later for the 4.1 branch) from the Palo Alto Networks support portal
  2. 2. Review the PAN-OS upgrade guide for your specific hardware model
  3. 3. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require downtime
  4. 4. Back up your current configuration
  5. 5. Upload the new PAN-OS image via the web interface or CLI
  6. 6. Perform the upgrade and verify the system boots successfully
  7. 7. Confirm the new version is running: > show system info
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or feature changes between your current version and the target version; some legacy features may behave differently

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-2012-6599 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
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