Palo Alto Networks Patches Authentication Bypass Exploit in PAN-OS Software

Feb 13, 2025Ravie LakshmananNetwork Security / Vulnerability

Palo Alto Networks has addressed a high-severity security flaw in its PAN-OS software that could result in an authentication bypass.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-0108, carries a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10.0. The score, however, drops to 5.1 if access to the management interface is restricted to a jump box.

“An authentication bypass in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enables an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the management web interface to bypass the authentication otherwise required by the PAN-OS management web interface and invoke certain PHP scripts,” Palo Alto Networks said in an advisory.

“While invoking these PHP scripts does not enable remote code execution, it can negatively impact the integrity and confidentiality of PAN-OS.”

The vulnerability affects the following versions –

• PAN-OS 11.2 = 11.2.4-h4)
• PAN-OS 11.1 = 11.1.6-h1)
• PAN-OS 11.0 (Upgrade to a supported fixed version as it has reached end-of-life status on November 17, 2024)
• PAN-OS 10.2 = 10.2.13-h3)
• PAN-OS 10.1 = 10.1.14-h9)

Searchlight Cyber/Assetnote security researcher Adam Kues, who is credited with discovering and reporting the flaw, said the security defect has to do with a discrepancy in how the interface’s Nginx and Apache components handle incoming requests, resulting in a directory traversal attack.

Palo Alto Networks has also shipped updates to resolve two other flaws –

• CVE-2025-0109 (CVSS score: 5.5) – An unauthenticated file deletion vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS management web interface that enables an attacker with network access to the management web interface to delete certain files as the “nobody” user, including limited logs and configuration files (Fixed in PAN-OS versions 11.2.4-h4, 11.1.6-h1, 10.2.13-h3, and 10.1.14-h9)
• CVE-2025-0110 (CVSS score: 7.3) – A command injection vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS OpenConfig plugin that enables an authenticated administrator with the ability to make gNMI requests to the PAN-OS management web interface to bypass system restrictions and run arbitrary commands (Fixed in PAN-OS OpenConfig Plugin version 2.1.2)

To mitigate the risk posed by the vulnerability, it’s highly advised to disable access to the management interface from the internet or any untrusted network. Customers who do not use OpenConfig can either choose to disable or uninstall the plugin from their instances.

CVE-2025-0108 Comes Under Active Exploitation

Threat intelligence firm GreyNoise is warning that malicious actors are attempting to actively exploit a newly patched authentication bypass flaw affecting Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS. Data shared by the company shows that exploitation attempts have originated from five unique IP addresses located in the United States, China, and Israel.

“This high-severity flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to execute specific PHP scripts, potentially leading to unauthorized access to vulnerable systems,” the GreyNoise Research Team said.