CVE-2020-1982 in PAN-OS
Summary
by MITRE
Certain communication between PAN-OS and cloud-delivered services inadvertently use TLS 1.0, which is known to be a cryptographically weak protocol. These cloud services include Cortex Data Lake, the Customer Support Portal, and the Prisma Access infrastructure. Conditions required for exploitation of known TLS 1.0 weaknesses do not exist for the communication between PAN-OS and cloud-delivered services. We do not believe that any communication is impacted as a result of known attacks against TLS 1.0. This issue impacts: All versions of PAN-OS 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.14; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3. PAN-OS 7.1 is not impacted by this issue.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-1982 represents a cryptographic weakness in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS firewall software that affects communication with cloud-delivered services. This issue manifests through the inadvertent use of TLS 1.0 protocol during communications between PAN-OS devices and various cloud services including Cortex Data Lake, Customer Support Portal, and Prisma Access infrastructure. The vulnerability stems from the implementation of outdated cryptographic protocols that have been deprecated due to known security weaknesses and vulnerabilities. According to industry standards and security best practices, TLS 1.0 is classified as cryptographically weak and susceptible to various attacks including POODLE and other protocol downgrade attacks that have been documented in multiple security frameworks including those referenced by the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) catalog under CWE-327.
The technical flaw in PAN-OS versions affects specific release branches and ranges where the system defaults to using TLS 1.0 for certain cloud communications rather than implementing more secure TLS versions. This configuration issue impacts PAN-OS 8.0 versions and specific earlier releases of PAN-OS 8.1, 9.0, and 9.1 branches, with the vulnerability not affecting PAN-OS 7.1 versions. The security implications arise from the fact that TLS 1.0 lacks modern cryptographic protections such as secure key exchange mechanisms and proper authentication protocols that are standard in TLS 1.1 and higher versions. This weakness creates potential attack vectors that could be exploited by adversaries to intercept or manipulate communications between the firewall and cloud services, although the vendor notes that no known attacks currently exploit this specific weakness in the described communication channels.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple cryptographic weakness to encompass potential data exposure and integrity concerns in cloud communications. Organizations using affected PAN-OS versions may experience reduced security posture when communicating with Palo Alto Networks cloud services, potentially compromising sensitive operational data and configuration information. The vulnerability affects the overall security architecture of PAN-OS deployments by introducing a weak link in the cryptographic chain that could be leveraged in advanced persistent threat scenarios or during broader network reconnaissance activities. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under T1566 (Phishing) or T1071.004 (Application Layer Protocol: DNS) if exploitation occurs, though the current assessment indicates no active exploitation of known TLS 1.0 weaknesses in the described communication paths.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-1982 primarily involve upgrading affected PAN-OS versions to the patched releases that disable TLS 1.0 usage and enforce stronger cryptographic protocols. Organizations should prioritize upgrading to PAN-OS 8.1.14, 9.0.9, or 9.1.3 respectively for their affected versions, as these releases contain the necessary fixes to prevent TLS 1.0 usage in cloud communications. Network administrators should also implement additional monitoring to detect any attempts to downgrade cryptographic protocols or establish connections using weak TLS versions. The remediation process should include verifying that cloud service communications now utilize TLS 1.1 or higher versions, and implementing proper network segmentation to minimize potential attack surface exposure. Additionally, security teams should review their cryptographic policy configurations to ensure that all network devices and services enforce strong TLS protocol versions and disable support for deprecated protocols. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date cryptographic implementations and the potential risks associated with legacy protocol support in enterprise security infrastructure.