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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2017-8390

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.1.17 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 DNS Proxy in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 6.1.18, 7.x before 7.0.16, 7.1.x before 7.1.11, and 8.x before 8.0.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted domain name.

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 buffer overflow or memory corruption vulnerability exists in the DNS Proxy component of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS. By sending a specially crafted DNS domain name to the DNS proxy, an unauthenticated remote attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 6.1.18 or later, 7.0.16 or later, 7.1.11 or later, or 8.0.3 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the DNS proxy from untrusted sources.

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:<= 6.1.17= 7.0.1= 7.0.2= 7.0.3= 7.0.4= 7.0.5= 7.0.6= 7.0.7= 7.0.8= 7.0.9= 7.0.10= 7.0.11

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. Verify PAN-OS version
    Use the web interface (Device > Setup > Operations > Unit Info) or CLI command 'show system info' to identify the installed PAN-OS version
    Affected if The installed version is 6.1.17 or lower, or any version 7.0.1 through 7.0.11 inclusive
  2. Confirm DNS proxy is configured
    In the web interface, navigate to Network > DNS Proxy to check if any DNS proxy objects exist and are enabled
    Affected if A DNS proxy is configured and enabled on the device
  3. Verify network accessibility to DNS proxy
    Review the DNS proxy configuration to determine which source addresses or zones are permitted to send DNS queries to the proxy. Check firewall policies allowing traffic to the DNS proxy service
    Affected if The DNS proxy accepts connections from untrusted networks or interfaces (such as external/ISP-facing interfaces)

The device is affected if it runs a vulnerable PAN-OS version (6.1.17 or lower, or 7.0.1-7.0.11) AND has a DNS proxy enabled that is accessible from untrusted network sources.

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 6.1.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 6.1.18 or later, 7.0.16 or later, 7.1.11 or later, or 8.0.3 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the DNS proxy from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 6.1.18 or later; PAN-OS 7.0.16 or later; PAN-OS 7.1.11 or later; PAN-OS 8.0.3 or later

  1. Download the appropriate PAN-OS upgrade image from the Palo Alto Networks support portal (requires valid support contract)
  2. Review the PAN-OS Upgrade Guide for pre-upgrade checklist items including backup of current configuration
  3. Upload the new PAN-OS image to the device via Device > Software > Upload
  4. Verify the software bundle integrity after upload
  5. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades cause brief connectivity interruption
  6. Install the upgrade via Device > Software > Install next to the desired version
  7. After installation, reboot the firewall device
  8. Verify the DNS Proxy functionality is working post-upgrade
Caveat Review PAN-OS Release Notes for potential feature changes and ensure compatibility with Panorama and third-party integrations before upgrading; upgrading may cause brief traffic disruption

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

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2017-8390 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