CVE-2025-0109 PAN-OS: Unauthenticated File Deletion Vulnerability on the Management Web Interface
Description
An unauthenticated file deletion vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS management web interface enables an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the management web interface to delete certain files as the “nobody” user; this includes limited logs and configuration files but does not include system files.
The attacker must have network access to the management web interface to exploit this issue. 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 critical deployment guidelines.
This issue does not affect Cloud NGFW or Prisma Access software.
Product Status
| Versions | Affected | Unaffected |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud NGFW | None | All |
| PAN-OS 11.2 | < 11.2.4-h4 < 11.2.5 | >= 11.2.4-h4 >= 11.2.5 |
| PAN-OS 11.1 | < 11.1.2-h18 < 11.1.4-h13 < 11.1.6-h1 | >= 11.1.2-h18 >= 11.1.4-h13 >= 11.1.6-h1 |
| PAN-OS 10.2 | < 10.2.7-h24 < 10.2.8-h21 < 10.2.9-h21 < 10.2.10-h14 < 10.2.11-h12 < 10.2.12-h6 < 10.2.13-h3 | >= 10.2.7-h24 >= 10.2.8-h21 >= 10.2.9-h21 >= 10.2.10-h14 >= 10.2.11-h12 >= 10.2.12-h6 >= 10.2.13-h3 |
| PAN-OS 10.1 | < 10.1.14-h9 | >= 10.1.14-h9 |
| Prisma Access | None | All |
Please note that PAN-OS 11.0, PAN-OS 10.0, PAN-OS 9.1, PAN-OS 9.0, and older releases have reached their software end-of-life (EoL) dates and are no longer evaluated for vulnerabilities and no fixes are planned. These versions are presumed to be affected.
Required Configuration for Exposure
The risk is greatest if you enabled access to the management interface from the internet or any untrusted network either:
- Directly; or
- Through a dataplane interface that includes a management interface profile.
You greatly reduce the risk if you ensure that you allow only trusted internal IP addresses to access the management interface.
Use the following steps to identify your recently detected devices in our internet scans.
- To find any assets that require remediation action, visit the Assets section of the Customer Support Portal at https://support.paloaltonetworks.com (Products → Assets → All Assets → Remediation Required).
- Review the list of your devices that we discovered in our scans to have an internet-facing management interface and that we tagged with ‘PAN-SA-2024-0015’ and a last seen timestamp (in UTC). If you do not see any such devices listed, then our scan did not find any devices on your account to have an internet-facing management interface within the past three days.
GlobalProtect portals and gateways are not vulnerable to this issue. However, if you configure a management profile on interfaces with GlobalProtect portals or gateways, then you expose the device to attacks through the management web interface (typically accessible on port 4443).
Severity: MEDIUM, Suggested Urgency: MODERATE
The risk is highest when you allow access to the management interface from external IP addresses on the internet. Our recommendation is to remediate as soon as possible.
CVSS-BT:
5.5 /
CVSS-B:
6.9 (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:N/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Amber)
You can greatly reduce the risk of exploitation by restricting access to a jump box that is the only system allowed to access the management interface. This will ensure that attacks can succeed only if they obtain privileged access through those specified IP addresses. We recommend remediating this vulnerability in your next scheduled maintenance cycle.
CVSS-BT:
1.2 /
CVSS-B:
2.1 (CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/AU:N/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Amber)
Exploitation Status
Palo Alto Networks is not aware of any malicious exploitation of this issue.
Weakness Type and Impact
CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path
Solution
| Version | Minor Version | Suggested Solution |
|---|---|---|
| PAN-OS 10.1 | 10.1.0 through 10.1.14 | Upgrade to 10.1.14-h9 or later |
| PAN-OS 10.2 | 10.2.0 through 10.2.13 | Upgrade to 10.2.13-h3 or later |
| 10.2.7 | Upgrade to 10.2.7-h24 or 10.2.13-h3 or later | |
| 10.2.8 | Upgrade to 10.2.8-h21 or 10.2.13-h3 or later | |
| 10.2.9 | Upgrade to 10.2.9-h21 or 10.2.13-h3 or later | |
| 10.2.10 | Upgrade to 10.2.10-h14 or 10.2.13-h3 or later | |
| 10.2.11 | Upgrade to 10.2.11-h12 or 10.2.13-h3 or later | |
| 10.2.12 | Upgrade to 10.2.12-h6 or 10.2.13-h3 or later | |
| PAN-OS 11.0 (EoL) | Upgrade to a supported fixed version | |
| PAN-OS 11.1 | 11.1.0 through 11.1.6 | Upgrade to 11.1.6-h1 or later |
| 11.1.2 | Upgrade to 11.1.2-h18 or 11.1.6-h1 or later | |
| 11.1.4 | Upgrade to 11.1.4-h13 or 11.1.6-h1 or later | |
| PAN-OS 11.2 | 11.2.0 through 11.2.4 | Upgrade to 11.2.5 or later |
| 11.2.4 | Upgrade to 11.2.4-h4 or 11.2.5 or later | |
| All other older unsupported PAN-OS versions | Upgrade to a supported fixed version. |
Workarounds and Mitigations
Recommended mitigation—The vast majority of firewalls already follow Palo Alto Networks and industry best practices. However, if you have not already, we strongly recommend that you secure access to your management interface according to our critical deployment guidelines. Specifically, you should restrict management interface access to only trusted internal IP addresses.
Review information about how to secure management access to your Palo Alto Networks firewalls:
Palo Alto Networks LIVEcommunity article:https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/community-blogs/tips-amp-tricks-how-to-secure-the-management-access-of-your-palo/ba-p/464431
- Palo Alto Networks official and detailed technical documentation:https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/best-practices/10-1/administrative-access-best-practices/administrative-access-best-practices/deploy-administrative-access-best-practices
Acknowledgments
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How did you identify that my firewall had an internet-facing management interface?
Palo Alto Networks detects public-facing customer NGFW internet management interfaces through routine, nonintrusive internet scanning. We analyze these results using proprietary indicators to attribute device attributes (such as firewall model) with a high degree of accuracy. Based on detected IP addresses, we are able to associate an internet-exposed firewall with the appropriate customer by cross-referencing the IP address to the serial number stored in our internal records.
We listed the firewalls that were discovered in this way since November 9 in the Remediation Required list under the Assets section of the Customer Support Portal (Products → Assets → All Assets → Remediation Required). This list may not be complete, so make sure to verify that all of your firewalls are properly configured.
CPEs
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.4:h3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.4:h2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.4:h1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.4:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.1.6:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:11.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*