CVE-2021-3064 PAN-OS: Memory Corruption Vulnerability in GlobalProtect Portal and Gateway Interfaces
Description
A memory corruption vulnerability exists in Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect portal and gateway interfaces that enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges. The attacker must have network access to the GlobalProtect interface to exploit this issue.
This issue impacts PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.17.
Prisma Access customers are not impacted by this issue.
Product Status
| Versions | Affected | Unaffected |
|---|---|---|
| PAN-OS 10.1 | None | 10.1.* |
| PAN-OS 10.0 | None | 10.0.* |
| PAN-OS 9.1 | None | 9.1.* |
| PAN-OS 9.0 | None | 9.0.* |
| PAN-OS 8.1 | < 8.1.17 | >= 8.1.17 |
| Prisma Access 2.2 | None | All |
| Prisma Access 2.1 | None | All |
Required Configuration for Exposure
This issue is applicable only to PAN-OS firewall configurations with a GlobalProtect portal or gateway enabled. You can verify whether you have a GlobalProtect portal or gateway configured by checking for entries in 'Network > GlobalProtect > Portals' and in 'Network > GlobalProtect > Gateways' from the web interface.
Severity: CRITICAL
CVSSv3.1 Base Score: 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
Exploitation Status
Palo Alto Networks is not aware of any malicious exploitation of this issue.
Weakness Type
CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Solution
This issue is fixed in PAN-OS 8.1.17 and all later PAN-OS versions.
Workarounds and Mitigations
Enable signatures for Unique Threat IDs 91820 and 91855 on traffic destined for GlobalProtect portal and gateway interfaces to block attacks against CVE-2021-3064.
It is not necessary to enable SSL decryption to detect and block attacks against this issue.
Acknowledgments
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Are there any indicators of compromise or breach related to this vulnerability?
No. Due to the nature of the vulnerability, there is no reliable indicator of compromise.
Q. Is this issue a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability?
This issue is an RCE vulnerability. This issue enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker with access to a GlobalProtect interface to execute arbitrary code with root user privileges.
Q. Has this issue been exploited in the wild?
No evidence of active exploitation was identified at the time this advisory was published.