CVE-2020-2003 in PAN-OS
Summary
by MITRE
An external control of filename vulnerability in the command processing of PAN-OS allows an authenticated administrator to delete arbitrary system files affecting the integrity of the system or causing denial of service to all PAN-OS services. This issue affects: All versions of PAN-OS 7.1; PAN-OS 8.1 versions before 8.1.14; PAN-OS 9.0 versions before 9.0.7; PAN-OS 9.1 versions before 9.1.1.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/17/2020
This vulnerability represents a critical external control of filename flaw in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS command processing mechanisms that fundamentally compromises system integrity and availability. The issue stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the administrative command execution pipeline, allowing authenticated administrators to manipulate file paths through command parameters. This weakness enables attackers with administrative privileges to execute arbitrary file deletion commands against the underlying operating system, potentially targeting critical system files, configuration data, or service binaries that maintain the platform's operational integrity. The vulnerability exists across multiple PAN-OS versions, indicating a persistent flaw in the platform's security architecture that affects the core command processing functionality.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability leverages the principle of insufficient input validation, which maps directly to CWE-77 and CWE-78 categories within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. Attackers can craft malicious commands that bypass normal file access controls and execute destructive operations against system files, potentially leading to complete system compromise or denial of service conditions. The flaw specifically affects PAN-OS versions 7.1, 8.1.x (before 8.1.14), 9.0.x (before 9.0.7), and 9.1.x (before 9.1.1), suggesting that the vulnerability was introduced in command processing logic that remained unpatched across multiple release streams. This widespread impact across major PAN-OS version lines indicates that the root cause resides in fundamental architectural components rather than isolated implementation bugs.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple file deletion capabilities to encompass complete system compromise and service disruption. When an authenticated administrator executes malicious commands through the vulnerable interface, they can target critical system components including configuration files, binary executables, and system libraries that maintain the platform's operational integrity. This can result in complete system outages, data loss, and the potential for further escalation attacks that leverage the compromised system as a foothold for additional network infiltration. The vulnerability's ability to affect all PAN-OS services simultaneously creates cascading failures that can disrupt network security operations and compromise the organization's overall security posture.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability must implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided patches and updates that address the filename validation issues in PAN-OS command processing. The recommended remediation strategy involves upgrading to the patched versions of PAN-OS that contain proper input validation mechanisms and sanitize all filename parameters before processing. Network security teams should also implement additional monitoring and access control measures to detect unauthorized administrative activities and limit the scope of administrative privileges through principle of least privilege configurations. Security controls should include logging and alerting for unusual file deletion activities, implementation of privileged access management systems, and regular security assessments to identify potential exploitation vectors. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of proper input validation in security-critical applications and demonstrates how authentication bypasses can lead to system compromise through command injection patterns.