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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2012-6603

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 web management UI 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 bypass authentication and obtain administrator privileges via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 37034.

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

Authentication bypass vulnerability in the web management UI of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS allows remote unauthenticated attackers to gain administrator privileges. The vulnerability affects versions before 3.1.12, 4.0.10, and 4.1.4.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 3.1.12 or later, 4.0.10 or later, or 4.1.4 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface using firewall rules or VPN.

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. Check if PAN-OS web management interface is enabled
    Access the device CLI and run 'show management-interface' or inspect the network configuration to verify if the web-based management UI (HTTPS/HTTP) is enabled and listening
    Affected if The web management interface is enabled and reachable on the network - this is required for the vulnerability to be exploitable
  2. Determine installed PAN-OS version
    Run the CLI command 'show system info' or 'show version' to retrieve the currently installed PAN-OS version number
    Affected if Version output must be captured to compare against affected ranges
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare the installed version from step 2 against these vulnerable ranges: 3.1.x versions 3.1.11 and earlier; 4.0.x versions 4.0.8 and earlier; 4.1.x versions 4.1.3 and earlier
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 3.1.0 through 3.1.11, 4.0.0 through 4.0.8, or 4.1.0 through 4.1.3

A system is affected if the PAN-OS web management interface is enabled and the installed version is 3.1.11 or earlier, 4.0.8 or earlier, or 4.1.3 or earlier

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 PAN-OS to version 3.1.12 or later, 4.0.10 or later, or 4.1.4 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to the management interface using firewall rules or VPN.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 3.1.12+ (3.1.x branch), 4.0.10+ (4.0.x branch), or 4.1.4+ (4.1.x branch)

  1. Back up the current PAN-OS configuration before starting the upgrade
  2. Access the PAN-OS web management UI or CLI
  3. Navigate to Device > Setup > Operating System and click 'Check Now' to see available updates
  4. Select and install the appropriate fixed version based on your current branch: 3.1.12 or later for 3.1.x, 4.0.10 or later for 4.0.x, 4.1.4 or later for 4.1.x
  5. After upgrade completes, verify the PAN-OS version matches the target fixed release
  6. Confirm web management UI is accessible and authentication is working properly
  7. Review administrator accounts to ensure no unauthorized accounts were added
Caveat Review PAN-OS release notes for your target version to check for configuration changes, feature modifications, or compatibility issues with connected appliances

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

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,180
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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-2012-6603 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