CVE-2020-2013: PAN-OS: Panorama context switch session cookie disclosure

Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2020-05-13 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-319

Description

A cleartext transmission of sensitive information vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Panorama that discloses an authenticated PAN-OS administrator's PAN-OS session cookie. When an administrator issues a context switch request into a managed firewall with an affected PAN-OS Panorama version, their PAN-OS session cookie is transmitted over cleartext to the firewall. An attacker with the ability to intercept this network traffic between the firewall and Panorama can access the administrator's account and further manipulate devices managed by Panorama. This issue affects: PAN-OS 7.1 versions earlier than 7.1.26; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.13; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.6; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than 9.1.1; All version of PAN-OS 8.0;

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 7.1.0 through 7.1.26; from 8.0.0 through 8.0.20; from 8.1.0 before 8.1.13; from 9.0.0 before 9.0.6; from 9.1.0 before 9.1.1 — fixed in 8.1.13, 9.0.6, 9.1.1
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 9.0 before 9.0.6; from 7.1 before 7.1.26; from 8.1 before 8.1.13; from 9.1 before 9.1.1; 8.0.* — fixed in 9.0.6, 7.1.26, 8.1.13, 9.1.1

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1.13, 9.0.6, 9.1.1; Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 9.0.6, 7.1.26, 8.1.13, 9.1.1. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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