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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 8 Sep 2022.
Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2017-15944

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-12-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.19 / 7.0.19 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit 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
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 6.1.19, 7.0.x before 7.0.19, 7.1.x before 7.1.14, and 8.0.x before 8.0.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors involving the management interface.

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 · moderate confidence

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS management interface contains a critical vulnerability allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability affects multiple version branches (6.1.x before 6.1.19, 7.0.x before 7.0.19, 7.1.x before 7.1.14, and 8.0.x before 8.0.6) through the management plane, enabling unauthenticated remote code execution with CVSS 9.8 severity.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 6.1.19 or later, 7.0.19 or later, 7.1.14 or later, or 8.0.6 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the management interface using network segmentation or VPN-only access policies.

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:< 6.1.19>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.19>= 7.1.0, < 7.1.14>= 8.0.0, < 8.0.6

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:3.1/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. Identify PAN-OS version
    Access the device via CLI or management interface and retrieve the current PAN-OS version. In CLI, this is typically shown in the dashboard or via 'show system info' command.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: < 6.1.19, >= 7.0.0 and < 7.0.19, >= 7.1.0 and < 7.1.14, or >= 8.0.0 and < 8.0.6
  2. Confirm management web interface is enabled
    Check device configuration for whether the management web interface (HTTP or HTTPS) is enabled. This is typically found under Device > Setup > Management or Network > Management profiles.
    Affected if HTTP or HTTPS management interface is enabled on any interface
  3. Verify management interface network exposure
    Review which network interfaces have management access enabled and from which source IP addresses or networks management traffic is permitted.
    Affected if Management web interface is reachable from untrusted networks or the internet rather than restricted to trusted admin networks only

You are affected if your PAN-OS version is in the vulnerable ranges AND the management web interface is enabled and accessible from a network you do not fully trust.

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 6.1.19 / 7.0.19 / 7.1.14 or later
Fixed in 6.1.197.0.197.1.14
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 6.1.19 or later, 7.0.19 or later, 7.1.14 or later, or 8.0.6 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to the management interface using network segmentation or VPN-only access policies.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to PAN-OS 6.1.19 (or latest 6.1.x), 7.0.19 (or latest 7.0.x), 7.1.14 (or latest 7.1.x), or 8.0.6 (or latest 8.0.x) depending on your current branch

  1. 1. Identify the current PAN-OS version by navigating to Dashboard > General Information in the web interface or running 'show system info' in the CLI
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are on (6.1.x, 7.0.x, 7.1.x, or 8.0.x)
  3. 3. Download the appropriate upgrade image from the Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal: for 6.1.x use 6.1.19 or later, for 7.0.x use 7.0.19 or later, for 7.1.x use 7.1.14 or later, for 8.0.x use 8.0.6 or later
  4. 4. Back up the current configuration by going to Device > Setup > Operations > Save Named Configuration Snapshot
  5. 5. Upload the upgrade image via Device > Software > Upload
  6. 6. Install the upgrade: Device > Software > Install > select the uploaded file and reboot
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version at Dashboard > General Information and confirm the management interface is accessible
Caveat Review PAN-OS release notes for any feature changes or deprecated functionality before upgrading; test in a non-production environment first if possible

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

Fix this in Pan Os Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2017-15944 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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