Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks
CVE-2016-3654
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 · uneditedThe device management command line interface (CLI) in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 5.0.18, 5.1.x before 5.1.11, 6.0.x before 6.0.13, 6.1.x before 6.1.10, and 7.0.x before 7.0.5H2 allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary OS commands via an SSH command parameter.
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 confidenceThe device management CLI in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS contains a command injection vulnerability that allows remote authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary OS commands by injecting those commands through SSH command parameters. This affects multiple PAN-OS version branches prior to the fixed releases.
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
>= 5.0.0, < 5.0.18>= 5.1, < 5.1.11>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.13>= 6.1.0, < 6.1.10>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.5CVSS 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
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check PAN-OS versionAccess the PAN-OS CLI via SSH or console and run 'show system info' or 'show version' to retrieve the installed PAN-OS version numberAffected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: 5.0.0 to 5.0.17, 5.1.0 to 5.1.10, 6.0.0 to 6.0.12, 6.1.0 to 6.1.9, or 7.0.0 to 7.0.5
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Verify SSH management access is enabledIn the PAN-OS web interface, go to Device > Setup > Management > Communication Settings, or use the CLI command 'show system settings ssh' to check if SSH service is enabled on the management interfaceAffected if SSH service is enabled on the management interface (the vulnerability is exploitable through SSH command parameters)
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Confirm admin user CLI access existsUse the CLI command 'show admin users' or check Device > Administrators in the web interface to list admin accountsAffected if Any administrator account with CLI and SSH access exists on the device (the attacker needs authenticated admin access to exploit this flaw)
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Check management interface network exposureReview the management interface binding by running 'show interface management' in the CLI, and check if the management IP is accessible from untrusted networksAffected if The management interface is reachable from networks outside the trusted admin network
A user is affected if their PAN-OS version is within the vulnerable ranges listed AND SSH management access is enabled with at least one admin user who has CLI privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data5.0.185.1.116.0.13
Upgrade PAN-OS to version 5.0.18 or higher, 5.1.11 or higher, 6.0.13 or higher, 6.1.10 or higher, or 7.0.5H2 or higher. Alternatively, restrict SSH access to the management interface to only trusted admin networks or implement additional network segmentation.
Fix this in Pan Os
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,872.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3654 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-3654 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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