CriticalCVE-2019-1579

    Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2019-1579)

    Published Last modified In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    Remote Code Execution in PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11-h1 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier with GlobalProtect Portal or GlobalProtect Gateway Interface enabled may allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. CISA lists it as used in ransomware campaigns. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect Portal/Gateway Interface eq PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier releases..PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier releases

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    Metrics

    8.1

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    8.1

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    46.2 %

    EPSS score

    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.8

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    243.61 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    8.1 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    8.1
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    46.2 %
    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    98.8
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw is network-reachable without authentication and sits on the one interface a VPN gateway deliberately exposes to the internet. Successful exploitation yields code execution on the perimeter device itself, meaning full loss of confidentiality, integrity and availability at the network edge. The higher attack complexity is largely offset by detailed public technical write-ups. Exploitation likelihood is very high, and CISA flags known use in ransomware campaigns, where compromised VPN appliances serve as initial access. Any internet-facing device still on these legacy versions should be rated critical and treated as possibly already compromised. For KRITIS and NIS2-scoped organisations this is top priority, including an assessment of incident-reporting obligations if compromise is confirmed.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Identify every PAN-OS device with GlobalProtect Portal or Gateway enabled (show system info, Panorama inventory). Affected versions are PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, 8.0.11-h1 and earlier, and 8.1.2 and earlier. Per the description, PAN-OS 9.x is not affected.
      • Patch: The CVE description implies the fixes landed in 7.1.19, 8.0.12 and 8.1.3. However, the affected-products list in the context also names those versions, so confirm the minimum fixed release in the vendor advisory. The 7.1, 8.0 and 8.1 trains are all end-of-life, so upgrade straight to a currently supported PAN-OS release.
      • Cut exposure until you can patch: Temporarily disable the GlobalProtect interface, or restrict it upstream to known source ranges (corporate sites, geo-filtering). This covers TCP/443 plus any other configured portal or gateway ports.
      • Assume compromise on long-exposed boxes: If a device sat unpatched on the internet for an extended period, treat it as potentially compromised. Capture a tech-support file and logs before upgrading, then perform forensic review.
      • Rotate secrets (on suspicion or after long exposure): local admin accounts, LDAP/RADIUS bind accounts, VPN user passwords, pre-shared keys, and portal/gateway certificates and private keys.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Never expose the management interface to the internet. Restrict management-plane egress to required destinations only (update servers, Panorama, syslog). Unexpected outbound connections from the firewall itself are a strong compromise signal.
      • Upstream IPS/WAF rule: Where TLS can be terminated in front of the portal, block POST requests to /sslmgr whose scep-profile-name parameter contains format-string tokens (%n, %x, %s, %p). This is the publicly documented attack path for the format-string bug.
      • Threat Prevention: Install current threat content updates. Attach a Vulnerability Protection profile with block action to the security rule permitting GlobalProtect traffic. Look up the exact signature ID in the vendor's Threat Vault.
      • Access restriction: Use geo-IP or IP allowlists to limit GlobalProtect reachability to the countries and networks where legitimate users are. Enforce certificate-based client authentication where operationally feasible.
      • Least privilege: Trim admin roles and enforce MFA for administrative access. Run directory bind accounts with read-only rights.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Network telemetry (Suricata/Zeek behind TLS inspection, or on a reverse proxy): Look for an HTTP POST to /sslmgr with a body containing scep-profile-name= followed by %. Sigma shape: cs-method: POST AND cs-uri-stem: '/sslmgr' AND cs-body|contains: 'scep-profile-name=%'.
      • Reconnaissance: Bursts of GETs from a single source against static GlobalProtect assets (/global-protect/portal/css/*, /global-protect/login.esp), used to fingerprint the version via the Last-Modified header. This pattern indicates scanning or version fingerprinting.
      • PAN-OS system logs: Watch for unexpected crashes or restarts of sslmgr or other GlobalProtect services, and for new core dumps (show system files). Failed format-string exploitation attempts often crash the process.
      • Config and auth logs (SIEM): Alert on new admin accounts, config commits outside change windows, and new NAT or security rules. KQL: CommonSecurityLog | where DeviceVendor=="Palo Alto Networks" and Activity=="CONFIG" | where SourceUserName !in (known_admins).
      • Egress anomalies: Check NetFlow or firewall logs for connections from the firewall's management IP to unfamiliar external hosts, especially reverse shells, payload download servers and unusual ports.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    Remote Code Execution in PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11-h1 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier with GlobalProtect Portal or GlobalProtect Gateway Interface enabled may allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.

    Source: cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), CISA KEV Catalog

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    —Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect Portal/Gateway Interface
    • PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier releases
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Otherpaloaltonetworkspan-os—

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited

    References & sources

    Reanalysis & status changes

    Chronological NVD audit events for this CVE — reanalyses, CVSS updates, CPE diffs.

    1. CVE Modified134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

      • SSVC: before {"id":"CVE-2019-1579","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"active"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technical…
      • SSVC: after {"id":"CVE-2019-1579","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"active"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technical…

    2. CVE Modifiedpsirt@paloaltonetworks.com

      • Reference: after http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/109310
      • Reference: after https://devco.re/blog/2019/07/17/attacking-ssl-vpn-part-1-PreAuth-RCE-on-Palo-Alto-GlobalProtect-with-Uber-as-case-study/
      • Reference: after https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2019-0010
      • Reference: after https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2019-1579

    3. CVE Modified134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

      • Reference: after https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-1579
      • Reference: before https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-1579
      • Reference Type: before https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-1579 Types: US Government Resource
      • SSVC: before {"id":"CVE-2019-1579","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"active"},{"automatable":"yes"},{"technica…

    4. CVE Modifiedaf854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

      • Reference: after http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/109310
      • Reference: after https://devco.re/blog/2019/07/17/attacking-ssl-vpn-part-1-PreAuth-RCE-on-Palo-Alto-GlobalProtect-with-Uber-as-case-study/
      • Reference: after https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2019-0010
      • Reference: after https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2019-1579
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