dbcve.org
GlobalprotectApplication · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2023-0009

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-06-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.13 / 6.0.5 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 local privilege escalation (PE) vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app on Windows enables a local user to execute programs with elevated privileges.

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 · moderate confidence

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app for Windows allows an authenticated local user to execute arbitrary code or programs with elevated SYSTEM privileges, effectively bypassing standard Windows access controls.

MitigationApply the vendor security update for CVE-2023-0009 to the GlobalProtect app on all affected Windows endpoints; verify the patch is applied and the service runs under the correct reduced-privilege account.

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:< 5.2.13>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.5= 6.1.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Verify GlobalProtect is installed on the Windows host
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) and look for 'Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect' in the list, or check for the existence of the directory C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\GlobalProtect\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Palo Alto Networks\GlobalProtect\
    Affected if GlobalProtect is not found in Programs and Features or the installation directory does not exist, then this CVE does not apply
  2. Determine the installed GlobalProtect version
    In the GlobalProtect installation directory, right-click pan_gp.exe, select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab. Alternatively, run `wmic product where "name like '%GlobalProtect%'" get version` or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Palo Alto Networks\GlobalProtect\Version
    Affected if The detected version cannot be determined or the product is not found, treat as potentially affected if installed
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    The affected versions are: any version before 5.2.13; versions 6.0.0 through 6.0.4; and exactly version 6.1.0. Compare your detected version from the previous step against these ranges
    Affected if Your installed version falls within < 5.2.13 OR >= 6.0.0 and < 6.0.5 OR equals 6.1.0, then your environment is affected by this CVE

A Windows host is affected if the GlobalProtect app is installed and the installed version matches any of these ranges: before 5.2.13, 6.0.0-6.0.4, or exactly 6.1.0.

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 5.2.13 / 6.0.5 or later
Fixed in 5.2.136.0.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor security update for CVE-2023-0009 to the GlobalProtect app on all affected Windows endpoints; verify the patch is applied and the service runs under the correct reduced-privilege account.

Recommended fix High confidence

GlobalProtect 5.2.13 or later; 6.0.5 or later; or the first security patch after 6.1.0

  1. Identify the current GlobalProtect version installed on affected Windows systems
  2. For GlobalProtect 5.x: Upgrade to version 5.2.13 or later
  3. For GlobalProtect 6.0.x: Upgrade to version 6.0.5 or later
  4. For GlobalProtect 6.1.0: Upgrade to the next available security patch (6.1.1 or later) that addresses CVE-2023-0009
  5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the installed GlobalProtect version in the app or via command line
  6. Test that GlobalProtect connects normally after the upgrade
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between versions

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

Fix this in Globalprotect Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-0009 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