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CVE Record

CVE-2020-2038: PAN-OS: OS command injection vulnerability in the management web interface

An OS Command Injection vulnerability in the PAN-OS management interface that allows authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary OS commands with root privileges. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.10; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than 9.1.4; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than 10.0.1.

HighCVSS 7.2Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

CVE-2020-2038 lets a logged-in PAN-OS administrator run operating system commands as root through the management web interface. It is not described as unauthenticated, but compromise of an admin account could turn into full firewall control. Treat exposed or weakly protected management access as the main business risk. Exposure is most likely where PAN-OS management interfaces are reachable and running affected releases: 9.0 before 9.0.10, 9.1 before 9.1.4, or 10.0 before 10.0.1. The source bundle also lists 8.1.*, but the description does not confirm its fixed version. Prioritize remediation for internet-reachable or broadly reachable management interfaces. The vulnerability requires administrator privileges, but successful abuse could give root-level control of a security appliance, creating high impact for network security, availability, and incident containment. Mitigation focus: Upgrade PAN-OS 9.0 to 9.0.10 or later.; Upgrade PAN-OS 9.1 to 9.1.4 or later.; Upgrade PAN-OS 10.0 to 10.0.1 or later..

Prepared

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

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cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-78: Command execution behavior lookup

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description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-2038 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.2 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
7.2CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.25.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.2High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-2038Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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-OS8.1.*, 10.0, 9.0, 9.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

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

CWE-78 · source CWE mapping

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.