Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks
CVE-2020-1999
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 · uneditedA vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Network PAN-OS signature-based threat detection engine that allows an attacker to communicate with devices in the network in a way that is not analyzed for threats by sending data through specifically crafted TCP packets. This technique evades signature-based threat detection. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.17; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.11; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than 9.1.5; All versions of PAN-OS 7.1 and PAN-OS 8.0.
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 PAN-OS signature-based threat detection engine can be bypassed by sending specifically crafted TCP packets that the system fails to analyze for threats, allowing attackers to communicate with network devices undetected by signature-based detection.
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
>= 7.1.0, <= 7.1.26>= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.20>= 8.1.0, < 8.1.17>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.11>= 9.1.0, < 9.1.5CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify PAN-OS versionRun the command 'show system info' or access the web interface under Device > Setup > Operations to view the PAN-OS version installedAffected if The installed version falls within 7.1.0-7.1.26, 8.0.0-8.0.20, 8.1.0-8.1.16, 9.0.0-9.0.10, or 9.1.0-9.1.4
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Confirm threat prevention is activeNavigate to Policies > Security or check under Security Profiles to verify that signature-based threat detection profiles are applied to security policiesAffected if Threat prevention profiles are active and the PAN-OS version is vulnerable
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Review threat logs for gapsCheck Monitor > Logs > Threat logs and compare against network traffic flows to identify any suspicious TCP sessions that were allowed without threat inspectionAffected if There are traffic flows that should have triggered threat detection but appear as allowed in logs despite matching known threat signatures
A system is affected if it runs a PAN-OS version within the vulnerable ranges AND has signature-based threat detection enabled in security policies.
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 data8.1.179.0.119.1.5
Upgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.17 or later, 9.0.11 or later, 9.1.5 or later; PAN-OS 7.1 and 8.0 users must upgrade to a supported version.
Fix this in Pan Os
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-1999 — 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-2020-1999 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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