CVE-2020-1979

PAN-OS: A format string vulnerability in PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows local privilege escalation

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: March 11, 2020 at 06:58 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:02 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorPAN-OS

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 1%

Description

A format string vulnerability in the PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows a network based attacker with knowledge of registered firewall devices and access to Panorama management interfaces to execute arbitrary code, bypassing the restricted shell and escalating privileges. This issue affects only PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.13 on Panorama. This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1, PAN-OS 9.0, or later PAN-OS versions.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 8.1.138.1 ≤ v < 8.1.138.1
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1.0 (unaffected)
Affected range stops below 8.1.13, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
Vendor states this is fixed in 9.0.0 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 9.1.0 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

References (1)

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-134

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