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CVE Record

CVE-2020-2005: PAN-OS: GlobalProtect Clientless VPN session hijacking

A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists when visiting malicious websites with the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect Clientless VPN that can compromise the user's active session. This issue affects: PAN-OS 7.1 versions earlier than 7.1.26; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.13; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.7; All versions of PAN-OS 8.0.

HighCVSS 7.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-2005 is a high-severity Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS issue affecting GlobalProtect Clientless VPN. A malicious website could abuse an active VPN session through cross-site scripting, risking session compromise. Business urgency is highest where Clientless VPN is exposed and users rely on affected PAN-OS versions.

Executive priority

Treat as a priority remediation for affected remote-access infrastructure. It is not described as unauthenticated device takeover, but session compromise against VPN users can expose sensitive internal access and should be fixed promptly.

Technical view

The flaw is CWE-79 XSS in GlobalProtect Clientless VPN. It affects PAN-OS 7.1 before 7.1.26, 8.1 before 8.1.13, 9.0 before 9.0.7, and all PAN-OS 8.0. CVSS 3.1 is 7.1: network reachable, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, high confidentiality impact.

Likely exposure

Likely exposure is limited to Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS deployments using GlobalProtect Clientless VPN on the listed versions. PAN-OS 8.0 is fully affected according to the bundle. Exposure requires users with active sessions who may visit malicious websites.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The attack condition described requires user interaction: a user visits a malicious website while having an active GlobalProtect Clientless VPN session.

Researcher notes

The source bundle supports affected versions, CVSS, CWE-79, and the session-hijacking scenario. It does not provide exploit proof, active exploitation, or detailed workaround evidence. Avoid assuming impact beyond GlobalProtect Clientless VPN on the listed PAN-OS versions.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade PAN-OS 7.1 to 7.1.26 or later where applicable.
  • Upgrade PAN-OS 8.1 to 8.1.13 or later where applicable.
  • Upgrade PAN-OS 9.0 to 9.0.7 or later where applicable.
  • Migrate off PAN-OS 8.0, because all 8.0 versions are listed affected.
  • Review Palo Alto Networks advisory for supported remediation guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory PAN-OS versions across firewalls and VPN gateways.
  • Confirm whether GlobalProtect Clientless VPN is enabled on each appliance.
  • Compare versions against 7.1.26, 8.1.13, and 9.0.7 thresholds.
  • Flag any PAN-OS 8.0 deployment as affected.
  • Review VPN session logs for unusual session activity after suspected malicious browsing.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup

Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-2005 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.1CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N2.84.2Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.1High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-2005Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS8.0.*, 7.1, 8.1, 9.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-79

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.