CVE-2022-0022: PAN-OS: Use of a Weak Cryptographic Algorithm for Stored Password Hashes

Severity: medium (CVSS 4.4 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2022-03-09 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-916

Description

Usage of a weak cryptographic algorithm in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software where the password hashes of administrator and local user accounts are not created with a sufficient level of computational effort, which allows for password cracking attacks on accounts in normal (non-FIPS-CC) operational mode. An attacker must have access to the account password hashes to take advantage of this weakness and can acquire those hashes if they are able to gain access to the PAN-OS software configuration. Fixed versions of PAN-OS software use a secure cryptographic algorithm for account password hashes. This issue does not impact Prisma Access firewalls. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.21; All versions of PAN-OS 9.0; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.11; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.0.7.

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 8.1.0 before 8.1.21; from 9.0.0 through 9.0.15; from 9.1.0 before 9.1.11; from 10.0.0 before 10.0.7 — fixed in 8.1.21, 9.1.11, 10.0.7
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 9.1 before 9.1.11; from 8.1 before 8.1.21; from 10.0 before 10.0.7; 9.0.* — fixed in 9.1.11, 8.1.21, 10.0.7

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 8.1.21, 9.1.11, 10.0.7; Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 9.1.11, 8.1.21, 10.0.7. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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