CVE-2020-1979: PAN-OS: A format string vulnerability in PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows local privilege escalation

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 1.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2020-03-11 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-134

Description

A format string vulnerability in the PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows a network based attacker with knowledge of registered firewall devices and access to Panorama management interfaces to execute arbitrary code, bypassing the restricted shell and escalating privileges. This issue affects only PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.13 on Panorama. This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1, PAN-OS 9.0, or later PAN-OS versions.

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: before 8.1.13 — fixed in 8.1.13
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 8.1 before 8.1.13 — fixed in 8.1.13

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1.13; Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1.13. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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