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Pan OsOperating system · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2022-0023

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.1.22 / 9.0.16 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
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
An improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability exists in the DNS proxy feature of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software that enables a meddler-in-the-middle (MITM) to send specifically crafted traffic to the firewall that causes the service to restart unexpectedly. Repeated attempts to send this request result in denial-of-service to all PAN-OS services by restarting the device in maintenance mode. This issue does not impact Panorama appliances and Prisma Access customers. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.22; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.16; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.13; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.0.10; PAN-OS 10.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.1.5. This issue does not impact PAN-OS 10.2.

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 vulnerability in the DNS proxy feature of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS allows a man-in-the-middle attacker to send specially crafted traffic that causes the DNS proxy service to crash and restart unexpectedly. Repeated exploitation leads to denial-of-service as the device enters maintenance mode restarts.

MitigationUpgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.22, 9.0.16, 9.1.13, 10.0.10, or 10.1.5 or later. PAN-OS 10.2 is not affected.

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, < 8.1.22>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.16>= 9.1.0, < 9.1.13>= 10.0.0, < 10.0.10>= 10.1.0, < 10.1.5

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check PAN-OS version
    Run 'show system info' in the CLI or check Device > Setup > Operations in the web UI
    Affected if Version is >= 8.1.0 and < 8.1.22, OR >= 9.0.0 and < 9.0.16, OR >= 9.1.0 and < 9.1.13, OR >= 10.0.0 and < 10.0.10, OR >= 10.1.0 and < 10.1.5. Versions 8.1.22+, 9.0.16+, 9.1.13+, 10.0.10+, 10.1.5+, and 10.2+ are not affected.
  2. Verify DNS proxy feature is enabled
    In the web UI, go to Network > DNS Proxy and confirm a DNS proxy object exists and is assigned to a zone or interface. In CLI, run 'show dns-proxy' to check configuration.
    Affected if A DNS proxy is configured and active on the device. The vulnerability only applies when the DNS proxy feature is enabled.

The device is affected only if the PAN-OS version is within the affected ranges AND the DNS proxy feature is enabled. If DNS proxy is not configured, the vulnerability cannot be exploited even on a vulnerable PAN-OS version.

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 8.1.22 / 9.0.16 / 9.1.13 or later
Fixed in 8.1.229.0.169.1.13
Interim mitigation

Upgrade PAN-OS to version 8.1.22, 9.0.16, 9.1.13, 10.0.10, or 10.1.5 or later. PAN-OS 10.2 is not affected.

Recommended fix High confidence

PAN-OS 8.1.22 / 9.0.16 / 9.1.13 / 10.0.10 (or later, depending on your current branch)

  1. 1. Identify current PAN-OS version via web interface (Device > Setup > Operations) or CLI command: show system info
  2. 2. Access Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal and download the appropriate fixed PAN-OS version for your current branch
  3. 3. For PAN-OS 8.1.x: upgrade to 8.1.22 or later
  4. 4. For PAN-OS 9.0.x: upgrade to 9.0.16 or later
  5. 5. For PAN-OS 9.1.x: upgrade to 9.1.13 or later
  6. 6. For PAN-OS 10.0.x: upgrade to 10.0.10 or later
  7. 7. Upload the PAN-OS upgrade image via web interface (Device > Software) or CLI
  8. 8. Perform the upgrade and verify the DNS proxy service functions normally after reboot
Caveat Review PAN-OS upgrade considerations including compatibility with Panorama, plugins, and third-party integrations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Pan Os Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2022-0023 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