dbcve.org
GlobalprotectApplication · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2022-0018

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.1.10 / 5.2.9 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
An information exposure vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app on Windows and MacOS where the credentials of the local user account are sent to the GlobalProtect portal when the Single Sign-On feature is enabled in the GlobalProtect portal configuration. This product behavior is intentional and poses no security risk when connecting to trusted GlobalProtect portals configured to use the same Single Sign-On credentials both for the local user account as well as the GlobalProtect login. However when the credentials are different, the local account credentials are inadvertently sent to the GlobalProtect portal for authentication. A third party MITM type of attacker cannot see these credentials in transit. This vulnerability is a concern where the GlobalProtect app is deployed on Bring-your-Own-Device (BYOD) type of clients with private local user accounts or GlobalProtect app is used to connect to different organizations. Fixed versions of GlobalProtect app have an app setting to prevent the transmission of the user's local user credentials to the target GlobalProtect portal regardless of the portal configuration. This issue impacts: GlobalProtect app 5.1 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.1.10 on Windows and MacOS; GlobalProtect app 5.2 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.2.9 on Windows and MacOS This issue does not affect GlobalProtect app on other platforms.

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

The GlobalProtect app for Windows and MacOS versions prior to 5.1.10 and 5.2.9 inadvertently transmits local user account credentials to the GlobalProtect portal when Single Sign-On is enabled, even when those local credentials differ from the credentials used for GlobalProtect authentication. This affects BYOD scenarios and multi-organization deployments where local account credentials may be different from VPN credentials.

MitigationUpgrade GlobalProtect app to version 5.1.10 or higher (5.2.x to 5.2.9 or higher) and enable the new app setting to prevent transmission of local user credentials to the GlobalProtect portal.

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
GlobalprotectApplication
Affected:>= 5.1, < 5.1.10>= 5.2, < 5.2.9

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Identify GlobalProtect version
    Open the GlobalProtect app, go to the About or Settings section to view the installed version number, or check the Windows Programs and Features list / Mac Applications folder for the GlobalProtect version
    Affected if version is 5.1.x below 5.1.10, or 5.2.x below 5.2.9
  2. Confirm SSO is enabled
    In the GlobalProtect app settings, look for Single Sign-On (SSO) configuration or check the portal configuration settings to verify that SSO authentication is active
    Affected if SSO is enabled on the GlobalProtect client
  3. Check for local account usage
    Verify whether the endpoint uses local Windows or Mac user accounts that may differ from the credentials used for GlobalProtect VPN authentication, particularly in BYOD or multi-organization scenarios
    Affected if local user account credentials exist separately from VPN credentials and are used on the same endpoint

You are affected if GlobalProtect version is below 5.1.10 (for 5.1.x) or below 5.2.9 (for 5.2.x) AND SSO is enabled, causing local credentials to be sent to the GlobalProtect portal.

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 5.1.10 / 5.2.9 or later
Fixed in 5.1.105.2.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade GlobalProtect app to version 5.1.10 or higher (5.2.x to 5.2.9 or higher) and enable the new app setting to prevent transmission of local user credentials to the GlobalProtect portal.

Recommended fix High confidence

GlobalProtect app 5.1.10 or 5.2.9 (or later) on Windows/MacOS

  1. Upgrade GlobalProtect app on Windows to version 5.1.10 or later (or 5.2.9 or later)
  2. Upgrade GlobalProtect app on MacOS to version 5.1.10 or later (or 5.2.9 or later)
  3. After upgrading, verify the new app setting to prevent transmission of local user credentials is enabled in the GlobalProtect app settings

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

Fix this in Globalprotect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2022-0018 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