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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2012-6605

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 and 4.0.x before 4.0.9 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, aka Ref ID 34896.

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 before 3.1.11 and 4.0.x before 4.0.9 contains a vulnerability allowing remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. This is a critical privilege escalation issue in the CLI that bypasses normal command restrictions.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 3.1.11 or later, or 4.0.9 or later. Additionally, restrict CLI access to only trusted administrative accounts and monitor for suspicious command execution.

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= 4.0.8

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
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 PAN-OS version
    Log into the device management interface or use the CLI command 'show system info' to retrieve the current PAN-OS version number
    Affected if The installed version is 3.1.10 or lower, OR the installed version is any version from 4.0.0 through 4.0.8
  2. Verify CLI access method
    Check if the device-management CLI is accessible via network (SSH/telnet to the management interface) rather than only through console access
    Affected if The CLI is reachable over the network to untrusted users, which enables the remote authenticated attack vector
  3. Assess authentication exposure
    Review which user accounts have CLI access and determine if any are accessible to untrusted or non-administrative personnel
    Affected if Any untrusted or low-privilege authenticated users have CLI access, as the vulnerability allows privilege escalation

A system is affected if it runs PAN-OS version 3.1.10 or earlier, or any version from 4.0.0 to 4.0.8, and the CLI is network-accessible to authenticated users who should not have full administrative privileges.

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, or 4.0.9 or later. Additionally, restrict CLI access to only trusted administrative accounts and monitor for suspicious command execution.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 3.1.11 (for 3.x branch) or PAN-OS 4.0.9 or later (for 4.x branch)

  1. 1. Obtain the appropriate PAN-OS upgrade image (version 3.1.11 or later for 3.x branch, version 4.0.9 or later for 4.x branch) from Palo Alto Networks support portal
  2. 2. Back up the current PAN-OS configuration using the web interface or CLI command 'export configuration'
  3. 3. Verify the integrity of the upgrade image using checksums provided by Palo Alto Networks
  4. 4. Upload the upgrade image via the web interface (Device > Software) or CLI
  5. 5. Install the upgrade and reboot the device
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the PAN-OS version matches the expected fixed version
  7. 7. Restore the configuration if needed and verify normal operation
Caveat These are legacy PAN-OS versions from 2012; PAN-OS 3.x and early 4.x branches are likely end-of-life and may require migration to newer hardware/software for continued support

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

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,880
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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-2012-6605 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
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