CVE-2020-1990: PAN-OS: Buffer overflow in the management server

Severity: high (CVSS 7.2 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 2.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2020-04-08 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-121

Description

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the management server component of PAN-OS allows an authenticated user to upload a corrupted PAN-OS configuration and potentially execute code with root privileges. This issue affects Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1 versions before 8.1.13; 9.0 versions before 9.0.7. This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1.

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 8.1.0 before 8.1.13; from 9.0.0 before 9.0.7 — fixed in 8.1.13, 9.0.7
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 8.1 before 8.1.13; from 9.0 before 9.0.7 — fixed in 8.1.13, 9.0.7

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1.13, 9.0.7; Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1.13, 9.0.7. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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