CVE-2020-2021
10.0 · CRITICAL Actively ExploitedOverview
CVE-2020-2021 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting paloaltonetworks pan-os. It was published on June 29, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
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, GlobalProte
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from paloaltonetworks. Update pan-os to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| paloaltonetworks | pan-os | 8.0.0 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2020-2021?
CVE-2020-2021 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting paloaltonetworks pan-os. It was published on June 29, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0 (CRITICAL). This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating active exploitation in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2020-2021?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 10.0, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-2021?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from paloaltonetworks. Update pan-os to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-2021?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2020-2021 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
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