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CVE-2020-2021· NVD / CVE Program· CNA palo_alto

PAN-OS: Authentication Bypass in SAML Authentication

When Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) authentication is enabled and the 'Validate Identity Provider Certificate' option is disabled (unchecked), improper verification of signatures in PAN-OS SAML authentication enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker to access protected resources. The attacker must have network access to the vulnerable server to exploit this vulnerability. This issue affects PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15, and all versions of PAN-OS 8.0 (EOL). This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1. This issue cannot be exploited if SAML is not used for authentication. This issue cannot be exploited if the 'Validate Identity Provider Certificate' option is enabled (checked) in the SAML Identity Provider Server Profile. Resources that can be protected by SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) authentication are: GlobalProtect Gateway, GlobalProtect Portal, GlobalProtect Clientless VPN, Authentication and Captive Portal, PAN-OS next-generation firewalls (PA-Series, VM-Series) and Panorama web interfaces, Prisma Access In the case of GlobalProtect Gateways, GlobalProtect Portal, Clientless VPN, Captive Portal, and Prisma Access, an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the affected servers can gain access to protected resources if allowed by configured authentication and Security policies. There is no impact on the integrity and availability of the gateway, portal or VPN server. An attacker cannot inspect or tamper with sessions of regular users. In the worst case, this is a critical severity vulnerability with a CVSS Base Score of 10.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N). In the case of PAN-OS and Panorama web interfaces, this issue allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the PAN-OS or Panorama web interfaces to log in as an administrator and perform administrative actions. In the worst-case scenario, this is a critical severity vulnerability with a CVSS Base Score of 10.0 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H). If the web interfaces are only accessible to a restricted management network, then the issue is lowered to a CVSS Base Score of 9.6 (CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H). Palo Alto Networks is not aware of any malicious attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

CriticalCVSS 10.0 · v3.1KEVWeaponized Fix available
Published
Jun 29, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
4.4% · 91th percentile
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Report tools

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Action score

71

This week

Don’t wait for the next maintenance window.

CVSS
40 / 40 · 10.0 / 10
CISA KEV
30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS
1 / 30 · 4.4%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
active
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
10.0
CNA · palo_alto
10.0
agree

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 25, 2022. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for government agencies: Apr 15, 2022.

Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
paloaltonetworkspan-os

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Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • paloaltonetworks pan-os8.0.0 and later · up to 8.0.20 inclusive
  • paloaltonetworks pan-os8.1.0 and later · before 8.1.15
  • paloaltonetworks pan-os9.0.0 and later · before 9.0.9
  • paloaltonetworks pan-os9.1.0 and later · before 9.1.3

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (palo_alto). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS

    • 8.0.*affected
    • 7.1.*not affected
    • 8.1 and later · before 8.1.15affectedfixed in 8.1.15
    • 9.0 and later · before 9.0.9affectedfixed in 9.0.9
    • 9.1 and later · before 9.1.3affectedfixed in 9.1.3

Same product

paloaltonetworks: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2024-3400PAN-OS: Arbitrary File Creation Leads to OS Command Injection Vulnerability in GlobalProtectKEV
    100Now
  • CVE-2017-15944Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 6.1.19, 7.0.x before 7.0.19, 7.1.x before 7.1.14, and 8.0.x before 8.0.6 allows remote attackers to executeKEV
    98Now
  • CVE-2024-0012PAN-OS: Authentication Bypass in the Management Web Interface (PAN-SA-2024-0015)KEV
    97Now
  • CVE-2025-0108PAN-OS: Authentication Bypass in the Management Web InterfaceKEV
    95Now
  • CVE-2026-0257PAN-OS: GlobalProtect Authentication Bypass VulnerabilitiesKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2024-9474PAN-OS: Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability in the Web Management InterfaceKEV
    85Now

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS8.1.15Vendor (CNA)
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS9.0.9Vendor (CNA)
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS9.1.3Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

Weaponized

A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.

Evidence

  • Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×1

Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.

Public exploit evidence
SourceKindDate
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHubstars:02026-09-05

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. CISA KEV+634 d
  3. First PoC+2259 d
  4. TodaySep 29, 2026+2283 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted

Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-347 · Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Root cause

The verifier takes the algorithm to verify with from the token’s own header. Untrusted data ends up deciding its own verification rule.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-347 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

ts
const claims = jwt.verify(token, publicKey);

Fixed

ts
const claims = jwt.verify(token, publicKey, {  algorithms: ["RS256"],  issuer: "https://id.example.com",  audience: "portal",});

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

ATT&CK techniques

—

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

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Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records