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NVD / CVE Program· CNA palo_alto

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

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 28/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.22% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.
  • Fixed version: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App 5.0.10, 5.1.4.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App 5.0.10, 5.1.4 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

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.

HighCVSS 7.0 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jun 10, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.2% · 12th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

28

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
28 / 40 · 7.0 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.2%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
7.0
CNA · palo_alto
7.0
agree

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

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
paloaltonetworksglobalprotect

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Watch new CVEs for globalprotect

When you'll hear from us

  • when a new CVE affecting this product is published
  • when a record in your stack enters KEV or gets exploit code

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits instantly.

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Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

  • Stack alerts: add the products and versions you run, get the new CVEs that affect them
  • Uptime monitoring: 1 site, instant email when it goes down
  • Add your domain: subdomains and takeover risk scanned every week (1 domain)
  • 10 scans an hour on the security tools (3 a day without an account), an API key and MCP
  • All your scans in one panel: findings, what changed in the last scan, a report per domain or per client (PDF, share link)
All free tools

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Free account, no card. Unfollow any time.

Don't want an account? Get "Exploited this week" by email every Monday

Affected versions

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

  • paloaltonetworks globalprotect5.0.0 and later · before 5.0.10
  • paloaltonetworks globalprotect5.1.0 and later · before 5.1.4

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 GlobalProtect App

    • 5.1 and later · before 5.1.4affectedfixed in 5.1.4
    • 5.0 and later · before 5.0.10affectedfixed in 5.0.10

Same product

paloaltonetworks: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2025-4232GlobalProtect: Authenticated Code Injection Through Wildcard on macOS
    34Monitor
  • CVE-2021-3057GlobalProtect App: Buffer Overflow Vulnerability When Connecting to Portal or Gateway
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2023-0009GlobalProtect App: Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability
    31Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-1989Apr 8, 2020 · Global Protect Agent: Incorrect privilege assignment allows local privilege escalation
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-2004May 13, 2020 · GlobalProtect App: Passwords may be logged in clear text while collecting troubleshooting logs
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2020-2033Jun 10, 2020 · GlobalProtect App: Missing certificate validation vulnerability can disclose pre-logon authentication cookie
    21Monitor

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 GlobalProtect App5.0.10Vendor (CNA)
Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App5.1.4Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

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.

No dated events beyond publication.

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.

  • Rich MirchTeamARES from Critical Start Inc for discovering and reporting this issue.

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

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • Special conditions such as timing or configuration are required.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-367 · Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

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

—

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