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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2016-3655

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-04-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.18 / 5.1.11 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 management web interface in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 5.0.18, 6.0.x before 6.0.13, 6.1.x before 6.1.10, and 7.0.x before 7.0.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via an unspecified API call.

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

A command injection vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS management web interface across multiple versions. Attackers can execute arbitrary OS commands through an unspecified API call, achieving full system compromise without authentication. This is a critical flaw as the management interface is typically exposed and compromise grants complete control over the firewall.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 5.0.18, 6.0.13, 6.1.10, 7.0.5 or later. Until patched, restrict management interface access to trusted networks or disable external management access entirely.

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:>= 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, <= 7.0.5

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check PAN-OS version
    Access the PAN-OS management web interface and navigate to the Device > About page, or use the CLI command 'show system info' to view the installed PAN-OS version
    Affected if The installed 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
  2. Verify management web interface is enabled
    Check the PAN-OS device management settings to confirm the web-based management interface (HTTPS) is enabled on any interface
    Affected if The management web interface is enabled on any external or untrusted network-facing interface
  3. Confirm management interface network exposure
    Review network access policies and interface configurations to determine if the PAN-OS management web interface is reachable from untrusted networks or the internet
    Affected if The management web interface is accessible from networks outside the trusted administrative zone

The environment is affected if the PAN-OS version is within the vulnerable ranges AND the management web interface is exposed to untrusted networks.

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 5.0.18 / 5.1.11 / 6.0.13 or later
Fixed in 5.0.185.1.116.0.13
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 5.0.18, 6.0.13, 6.1.10, 7.0.5 or later. Until patched, restrict management interface access to trusted networks or disable external management access entirely.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the minimum fixed version for your branch: 5.0.18, 5.1.11, 6.0.13, or 6.1.10 (or later)

  1. 1. Backup the current PAN-OS configuration via Device > Setup > Operations > Export named configuration snapshot
  2. 2. Download the latest compatible PAN-OS release from the Palo Alto Networks Support Portal based on your current major version branch
  3. 3. For PAN-OS 5.0.x: upgrade to 5.0.18 or later
  4. 4. For PAN-OS 5.1.x: upgrade to 5.1.11 or later
  5. 5. For PAN-OS 6.0.x: upgrade to 6.0.13 or later
  6. 6. For PAN-OS 6.1.x: upgrade to 6.1.10 or later
  7. 7. Upload the upgrade file via Device > Software > Upload
  8. 8. Install the upgrade via Device > Software > Install
Caveat Standard PAN-OS upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any configuration changes or deprecated features before upgrading

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.

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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-2016-3655 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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