CVE-2020-1979
PAN-OS: A format string vulnerability in PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows local privilege escalation
- 8.1HighCVSS base score
- 1.0%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 37% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
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.
Timeline
ID reserved
By palo_alto
- 3 months later
· 3 months later
Published
- 5 years later
· 5 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| palo_altoCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | High8.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | High7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 1.0% · top 37% of all CVEs (11 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.1.
Affected products
- affected 8.1 – < 8.1.13
- unaffected 9.0.0 – < 9.0*
- unaffected 7.1.0 – < 7.1*
- unaffected 9.1.0 – < 9.1*
What to do
Solution: This issue is fixed in PAN-OS 8.1.13 and all later PAN-OS 8.1 versions.
Workaround: This issue affects the management interface of Panorama and is mitigated by following best practices for securing the Panorama management interface. Our best practices guidelines reduce the exposure of the management interface to potential attackers. Please review the Best Practices for Securing Administrative Access in the PAN-OS 8.1 technical documentation, available at: https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/pan-os/8-1/pan-os-admin/getting-started/best-practices-for-securing-administrative-access.
References
References1
- https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2020-1979 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2020-12769 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2020-1979)Record last updated .