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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2021-3054

MEDIUM · 6.6 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 →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS web interface enables an authenticated administrator with permission to upload plugins to execute arbitrary code with root user privileges. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.20; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.14; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.11; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.0.7; PAN-OS 10.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.1.2. 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

A time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition in the PAN-OS web interface allows an authenticated administrator with plugin upload permissions to execute arbitrary code with root privileges by exploiting the race window between file validation and usage.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.20 or later for 8.1, 9.0.14 or later for 9.0, 9.1.11 or later for 9.1, 10.0.7 or later for 10.0, or 10.1.2 or later for 10.1. Restrict administrative plugin upload permissions until patching is complete.

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, < 9.1.11>= 10.0.0, < 10.0.7>= 10.1.0, < 10.1.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/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. Determine the PAN-OS version
    Run the CLI command 'show system info' or 'show version' to retrieve the installed PAN-OS version number
    Affected if The version falls within these ranges: 8.1.0 to 8.1.19, 9.0.0 to 9.0.13, 9.1.0 to 9.1.10, 10.0.0 to 10.0.6, or 10.1.0 to 10.1.1
  2. Confirm web management interface is enabled
    Check the device network settings or run 'show management-interface' in the CLI to verify the web-based management interface is configured and running
    Affected if The web interface (HTTPS management on port 443) is enabled and accessible
  3. Identify administrators with plugin upload permissions
    In the web interface, navigate to Device -> Administrators or use the CLI 'show admin privilege' to list administrator accounts and their assigned roles
    Affected if Any administrator account has a role that includes plugin upload or package installation privileges

The environment is affected if the PAN-OS version is in the affected ranges, the web management interface is enabled, and an administrator with plugin upload permissions exists.

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 / 9.1.11 or later
Fixed in 8.1.209.0.149.1.11
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.20 or later for 8.1, 9.0.14 or later for 9.0, 9.1.11 or later for 9.1, 10.0.7 or later for 10.0, or 10.1.2 or later for 10.1. Restrict administrative plugin upload permissions until patching is complete.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the minimum fixed version in your current branch: PAN-OS 8.1.20, 9.0.14, 9.1.11, or 10.0.7 (or later)

  1. 1. Identify the current PAN-OS version by navigating to Device > Setup > Operations menu in the web interface
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (8.1, 9.0, 9.1, or 10.0) is currently running
  3. 3. For PAN-OS 8.1.x: Upgrade to PAN-OS 8.1.20 or later
  4. 4. For PAN-OS 9.0.x: Upgrade to PAN-OS 9.0.14 or later
  5. 5. For PAN-OS 9.1.x: Upgrade to PAN-OS 9.1.11 or later
  6. 6. For PAN-OS 10.0.x: Upgrade to PAN-OS 10.0.7 or later
  7. 7. Download the appropriate update from the Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal
  8. 8. Upload the update via Device > Software > Upload, or use Panorama if centrally managed
Caveat Review PAN-OS release notes for any compatibility notes or deprecated features before upgrading; ensure plugin compatibility with the target version

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

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,840
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,144.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-3054 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