Palo Alto Networks · PAN-OS · Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS File Read Vulnerability
Verdict
Patch on your normal cycle · actively exploited, not reachable unauthenticated from the internet, and in the top 25% of CVEs by near-term exploitation probability
Added to CISA KEV 2025-02-20 · exploited in the wild for 584 days
CVSS 7.1 HIGH. The score is a summary; these three components are the part that decides whether something scanning the internet can use it.
| Attack vector | networkreachable over the network, with no local access needed |
|---|---|
| Privileges required | lowneeds some credentials, so a fully anonymous attacker cannot reach it directly |
| User interaction | nonecan be triggered with nobody interacting with the page or request |
| Base vector | CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:N/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Red |
| Weakness | CWE-73 |
This describes the vulnerability. It says nothing about whether your systems run it.
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.0200, which places it in the top 25% of all tracked CVEs. The percentile is the more useful half: 0.18 in absolute terms sounds low until you know most of the internet-facing software in the world scores under that.
| EPSS probability | 0.0200 |
|---|---|
| Percentile | 0.799 — top 25% |
| Added to KEV | 2025-02-20 |
|---|---|
| Days exploited | 584 |
| Federal remediation due | not set |
| Ransomware use | no known ransomware campaign use |
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
An authenticated file read vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enables an authenticated attacker with network access to the management web interface to read files on the PAN-OS filesystem that are readable by the “nobody” user. You can greatly reduce the risk of this issue by restricting access to the management web interface to only trusted internal IP addresses according to our recommended best practices deployment guidelines https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/community-blogs/tips-amp-tricks-how-to-secure-the-management-access-of-your-palo/ba-p/464431 . This issue does not affect Cloud NGFW or Prisma Access software.