CVE-2020-2032: GlobalProtect App: File race condition vulnerability leads to local privilege escalation during upgrade

Severity: high (CVSS 7.0 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2020-06-10 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-367

Description

A race condition vulnerability Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app on Windows allows a local limited Windows user to execute programs with SYSTEM privileges. This issue can be exploited only while performing a GlobalProtect app upgrade. This issue affects: GlobalProtect app 5.0 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.0.10 on Windows; GlobalProtect app 5.1 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.1.4 on Windows.

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App: from 5.0.0 before 5.0.10; from 5.1.0 before 5.1.4 — fixed in 5.0.10, 5.1.4
Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App: from 5.1 before 5.1.4; from 5.0 before 5.0.10 — fixed in 5.1.4, 5.0.10

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App 5.0.10, 5.1.4; Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App 5.1.4, 5.0.10. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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