CVE-2020-1981
PAN-OS: Predictable temporary filename vulnerability allows local privilege escalation
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- palo_alto
Description
A predictable temporary filename vulnerability in PAN-OS allows local privilege escalation. This issue allows a local attacker who bypassed the restricted shell to execute commands as a low privileged user and gain root access on the PAN-OS hardware or virtual appliance. This issue affects only PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.13. 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 | High7.0 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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)
- 0.36% · top 70% of all CVEs (8 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.0.
Weakness
Affected products
- affected 8.1 < 8.1.13
- affected 8.1 !>= 8.1.13
- affected 9.0 !>= 9.0.0
- affected 7.1 !>= 7.1.0
- affected 9.1 !>= 9.1.0
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 PAN-OS and is mitigated by following best practices for securing the PAN-OS 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 (1)
- https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2020-1981 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_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)
- 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-2020-1981)Record last updated .