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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2021-3052

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1.20 / 9.0.14 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Palo Alto Network PAN-OS web interface enables an authenticated network-based attacker to mislead another authenticated PAN-OS administrator to click on a specially crafted link that performs arbitrary actions in the PAN-OS web interface as the targeted authenticated administrator. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.20; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.14; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than 9.1.10; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than 10.0.2. This issue does not affect Prisma Access.

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

Reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the PAN-OS web interface allows an authenticated attacker to craft malicious links that, when clicked by another authenticated PAN-OS administrator, execute arbitrary actions in the web interface as that targeted administrator.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.20, 9.0.14, 9.1.10, 10.0.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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:>= 8.1.0, < 8.1.20>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.14>= 9.1.0, < 9.1.10>= 10.0.0, < 10.0.2

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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. Determine installed PAN-OS version
    Run the CLI command `show system info` or `show version` to retrieve the current PAN-OS firmware version number
    Affected if The version displayed falls within any of these ranges: 8.1.0 to 8.1.19, 9.0.0 to 9.0.13, 9.1.0 to 9.1.9, or 10.0.0 to 10.0.1
  2. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if the version shown from the previous step matches the pattern 8.1.x (where x is 0-19), 9.0.x (where x is 0-13), 9.1.x (where x is 0-9), or 10.0.x (where x is 0-1)
    Affected if The version exactly matches one of the vulnerable version patterns listed in the CVE (any version from 8.1.0 up to but not including 8.1.20, 9.0.14, 9.1.10, or 10.0.2)
  3. Verify web management interface is accessible
    Confirm that the PAN-OS web-based management interface (GUI) is enabled and reachable at the management IP or hostname on port 443
    Affected if The web interface is enabled and accessible to users, because this reflected XSS vulnerability requires the victim to interact with the web interface via a crafted link

A system is affected if the installed PAN-OS version falls within any of the vulnerable version ranges (8.1.0-8.1.19, 9.0.0-9.0.13, 9.1.0-9.1.9, or 10.0.0-10.0.1) and the web management interface is enabled and accessible.

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 8.1.20 / 9.0.14 / 9.1.10 or later
Fixed in 8.1.209.0.149.1.10
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.20, 9.0.14, 9.1.10, 10.0.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 8.1.20, 9.0.14, 9.1.10, or 10.0.2 (or later stable releases)

  1. 1. Identify the current PAN-OS version by navigating to Device > Support in the web interface or running 'show system info' in the CLI
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (8.1, 9.0, 9.1, or 10.0) the current installation is on
  3. 3. Download the appropriate maintenance release from the Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal
  4. 4. Upload the update via Device > Software > Upload in the web interface, or via 'request system software upload' in the CLI
  5. 5. Install the update via Device > Software > Install, or via 'request system software install <filename>' in the CLI
  6. 6. After installation, reboot the firewall via 'request restart system' in the CLI
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful and the version matches the expected fixed release
  8. 8. Test that the web interface functions normally and the XSS vulnerability is no longer present
Caveat Major version upgrades (e.g., 9.x to 10.x) may introduce feature changes; review release notes for compatibility with existing configurations and Panorama templates

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2021-3052 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