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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2012-6601

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-08-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1.11 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 3.1.12, 4.0.x before 4.0.10, and 4.1.x before 4.1.4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 36983.

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

Remote code execution vulnerability in the device-management command-line interface of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. Affected versions include PAN-OS before 3.1.12, 4.0.x before 4.0.10, and 4.1.x before 4.1.4.

MitigationUpgrade to PAN-OS 3.1.12, 4.0.10, 4.1.4 or later. Until patched, restrict network access to the management interface and disable untrusted CLI access.

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:<= 3.1.11= 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= 4.0.8

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
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/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 installed PAN-OS version
    Log into the PAN-OS web interface and go to Device > Setup > Operations, or use the CLI command 'show system info' to retrieve the current firmware version.
    Affected if The version is 3.1.11 or earlier, any 4.0.x version before 4.0.10, or any 4.1.x version before 4.1.4
  2. Verify management interface network exposure
    Check the network configuration to determine if the management interface (HTTP/HTTPS CLI or web UI) is reachable from untrusted networks. In the web interface, go to Network > Interfaces and review the management profile bindings.
    Affected if The management interface is accessible from external/untrusted networks without IP restrictions
  3. Confirm CLI access is enabled
    In the PAN-OS web interface, go to Device > Management > General Settings and verify whether the CLI and web interface are enabled for management access.
    Affected if Management interface access (SSH, HTTPS, or Telnet) is enabled and accessible

If the PAN-OS version falls within the affected ranges (3.1.11 or earlier, 4.0.x before 4.0.10, or 4.1.x before 4.1.4) AND the management interface is network-accessible, the system is potentially affected by this RCE vulnerability.

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 3.1.11
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to PAN-OS 3.1.12, 4.0.10, 4.1.4 or later. Until patched, restrict network access to the management interface and disable untrusted CLI access.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 3.1.12 or later (for 3.x branch); PAN-OS 4.0.10 or later (for 4.0.x branch); PAN-OS 4.1.4 or later (for 4.1.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current PAN-OS version by accessing the device management interface or running 'show system info'
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: if on 3.1.x branch, upgrade to 3.1.12 or later; if on 4.0.x branch, upgrade to 4.0.10 or later; if on 4.1.x branch, upgrade to 4.1.4 or later
  3. 3. Review Palo Alto Networks upgrade guide and release notes for compatibility requirements
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades require downtime
  5. 5. Backup the current configuration using 'save config to <filename>' or via the web interface
  6. 6. Download the appropriate PAN-OS image from the Palo Alto Networks support portal
  7. 7. Upload the new PAN-OS image to the device
  8. 8. Initiate the upgrade and wait for completion
Caveat Major version upgrades may require configuration adjustments; review compatibility with existing features and third-party integrations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
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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-2012-6601 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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