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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2020-1996

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-05-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.0.8 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A missing authorization vulnerability in the management server component of PAN-OS Panorama allows a remote unauthenticated user to inject messages into the management server ms.log file. This vulnerability can be leveraged to obfuscate an ongoing attack or fabricate log entries in the ms.log file This issue affects: All versions of PAN-OS 7.1 and 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.14; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.9.

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 missing authorization vulnerability in the PAN-OS Panorama management server allows remote unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary messages into the ms.log file. This can be exploited to obfuscate malicious activity or fabricate log entries, compromising log integrity for forensic and monitoring purposes.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS Panorama to version 8.1.14 or later, 9.0.9 or later, or a later supported version (10.0+). For systems that cannot be immediately patched, implement network segmentation to restrict management interface access and monitor ms.log for suspicious entries.

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:>= 7.1.0, <= 7.1.26>= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.20>= 8.1.0, <= 8.1.13>= 9.0.0, <= 9.0.8

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

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. Confirm the device is Panorama
    Log into the Panorama management console and check the Device > Setup > Management tab. Look for 'Panorama' in the system information or run 'show system info' on the CLI.
    Affected if The device is confirmed to be a Panorama virtual appliance or physical appliance rather than a standalone firewall.
  2. Identify the PAN-OS version
    On the Panorama CLI, run 'show system info' or check Device > Setup > About in the web interface. Note the PAN-OS version number.
    Affected if The PAN-OS version falls within these ranges: 7.1.0 to 7.1.26, 8.0.0 to 8.0.20, 8.1.0 to 8.1.13, or 9.0.0 to 9.0.8.
  3. Verify management interface exposure
    Check the network configuration for the Panorama management interface (eth0/management). Run 'show interface management' on the CLI or review Device > Setup > Management > Management Interface in the web interface.
    Affected if The management interface is reachable from untrusted networks or the internet without network segmentation or access lists.
  4. Inspect ms.log for suspicious entries
    On the Panorama CLI, navigate to the log directory and examine ms.log. Use 'less ms.log' or grep for unusual patterns. Run: ls -la /var/log/pan/ms.log and review the contents for entries that do not correspond to known administrative activities.
    Affected if ms.log contains log entries with unexpected sources, unusual timestamps, or messages that cannot be traced to legitimate Panorama administrative actions.

If the device is Panorama running an affected PAN-OS version (7.1.0-7.1.26, 8.0.0-8.0.20, 8.1.0-8.1.13, or 9.0.0-9.0.8) with an exposed management interface, the system is vulnerable to unauthorized log injection.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.0.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS Panorama to version 8.1.14 or later, 9.0.9 or later, or a later supported version (10.0+). For systems that cannot be immediately patched, implement network segmentation to restrict management interface access and monitor ms.log for suspicious entries.

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2020-1996 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data