Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can let outsiders misuse certain Palo Alto Networks firewalls as traffic amplifiers in denial-of-service attacks against someone else. The firewall itself is not described as losing confidentiality, integrity, or availability, but it may appear to be the attack source, creating operational and reputation risk.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for internet-facing Palo Alto Networks firewalls because confirmed exploitation can make the organization appear to launch DoS attacks, even without direct data loss or firewall compromise.
Technical view
CVE-2022-0028 affects PAN-OS URL filtering configurations where blocked categories are assigned to a source zone with an external-facing interface. A network attacker can trigger reflected and amplified TCP DoS traffic toward a chosen target. Panorama is not affected; Cloud NGFW and Prisma Access were resolved by Palo Alto Networks.
Likely exposure
Most likely exposure is internet-facing PA-Series, VM-Series, or CN-Series firewalls running affected PAN-OS versions 8.1 through 10.2 with the unusual URL filtering policy condition described by Palo Alto Networks.
Exploitation context
CISA lists CVE-2022-0028 in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, so treat exploitation as confirmed. The sources do not provide exploit details, targeting scale, or evidence of compromise to the firewall itself.
Researcher notes
The key condition is configuration-dependent, not simply product presence. Validate source-zone exposure and URL filtering profile assignment before declaring exposure. Evidence provided does not name exploit tooling, packet details, or affected fixed-version boundaries beyond vendor update availability.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected PAN-OS deployments to vendor-fixed releases.
- Review Palo Alto Networks advisory for exact fixed versions and guidance.
- Remove unintended URL filtering profiles from external-facing source zones.
- Verify blocked URL categories are not assigned to exposed source zones.
- Confirm Cloud NGFW and Prisma Access tenants require no further action.
Validation and detection
- Inventory PA-Series, VM-Series, and CN-Series PAN-OS versions.
- Identify source zones with external-facing interfaces.
- Check URL filtering profiles for blocked categories on those zones.
- Confirm Panorama-only systems are not incorrectly prioritized.
- Review logs or provider notices for reflected DoS complaints.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-406: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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.
Open ATT&CK lookupContainer behavior lookup
The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-0028 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
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.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H3.94Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.6HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2022-0028CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-0028CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification)
Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.