Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify exposed PAN-OS IKEv2 listener
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DeliveryCraft malformed IKEv2 negotiation packet
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ExploitSend to UDP/500 or UDP/4500
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ExecutionTrigger out-of-bounds write in parser
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PersistAchieve code execution or crash dataplane
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ImpactPivot from firewall into protected network
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | The firewall must be running an affected PAN-OS version (11.1.x < 11.1.15, 11.2.x < 11.2.12, or 12.1.x < 12.1.7) with IKEv2 processing reachable - i.e., IPSec VPN configured with IKEv2 on an interface accessible to the attacker, typically the untrusted/internet-facing interface listening on UDP/500 and UDP/4500. No authentication is required (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N), but CVSS 4.0 AC:H plus AU:Y indicate the exploit requires specific attack preconditions - likely a particular memory state, packet sequence, or timing window for the buffer overflow primitive to yield code execution rather than only a crash. Panorama, Cloud NGFW, and Prisma Access deployments are NOT exploitable per vendor. Limiting factors: high attack complexity reduces opportunistic mass exploitation, and firewalls without any IKEv2/IPSec VPN configuration are out of scope. |
| Impact | Signals are notably divergent. CVSS 4.0 rates this 7.2 with AV:N/PR:N/UI:N (network, unauthenticated, no user interaction) and VC:H/VI:H/VA:H (full confidentiality, integrity, availability impact), but AC:H (high attack complexity) and AU:Y (attack requirements present) indicate exploitation is non-trivial - likely requiring specific timing, memory layout, or environmental conditions. CISA SSVC concurs with 'Automatable: no' and 'Exploitation: none'. EPSS is very low at 0.06%, no KEV listing, and no public PoC. The vendor (Palo Alto) self-reported, which is typical of an internally discovered issue without observed in-the-wild abuse. Realistic risk: high impact if successfully exploited (firewall takeover would be catastrophic), but the practical bar for weaponization is currently high. Patch priority should still be elevated for any internet-exposed firewall with IKEv2/IPSec VPN enabled because the asset is security-critical and pre-auth reachable. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker scans the internet for Palo Alto firewalls with IKEv2 listeners exposed (UDP/500, UDP/4500), then sends a specially crafted IKEv2 negotiation packet that triggers an out-of-bounds write in the parser. Successful exploitation either crashes the firewall (DoS, breaking perimeter security and VPN connectivity) or yields arbitrary code execution at elevated privileges on the firewall data plane. No public exploit identified at time of analysis, and CVSS AC:H indicates the memory-corruption primitive likely requires non-trivial heap grooming or precondition setup. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jun 08, 2026
Remote code execution and denial-of-service in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software stems from a buffer overflow in the IKEv2 processing path, allowing unauthenticated network attackers to either crash the firewall or run arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The flaw affects multiple PAN-OS branches (11.1.x, 11.2.x, and 12.1.x) while Panorama, Cloud NGFW, and Prisma Access remain unaffected. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, EPSS sits at a low 0.06% (19th percentile), and CISA SSVC currently lists exploitation as 'none'.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to PAN-OS 11.1.15, 11.2.12, or 12.1.7 (or the corresponding hotfixed maintenance releases such as 11.1.13-h5, 11.1.10-h25, 11.2.10-h6, 11.2.7-h13, or 12.1.4-h5) per the Palo Alto advisory at https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2026-0263. As an interim compensating control where patching cannot be performed immediately, disable IKEv2 / IPSec VPN on the firewall's untrusted interfaces or restrict UDP/500 and UDP/4500 ingress to known peer IP addresses via an upstream ACL - note this will break site-to-site VPNs and remote-access IPSec clients, so it is only acceptable as a short-term measure. Avoid exposing the management plane to coincident risk by reviewing management-interface ACLs while patching.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 3 packages in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability lies in PAN-OS's IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange version 2) implementation, which is used to negotiate IPSec VPN tunnels - typically on the firewall's external interface and exposed via UDP/500 and UDP/4500. The CWE-787 (Out-of-Bounds Write) classification indicates that a malformed IKEv2 packet causes the parser to write past the bounds of an allocated buffer, corrupting adjacent memory. Because IKEv2 is processed pre-authentication (the protocol itself negotiates authentication), this memory corruption is reachable without credentials. The affected CPEs span pan-os, cloud_ngfw, and prisma_access, but Palo Alto's advisory explicitly excludes the latter two - the CPE breadth appears to reflect NVD enumeration rather than actual exposure.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N/E:U/AU:Y/R:U/V:C/RE:H/U:Red
Primary rating from Vendor (palo_alto) · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorVendor: palo_alto
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
A buffer overflow vulnerability in the IKEv2 processing of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® software allows an unauthenticated network-based attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges on the firewall, or cause a denial of service (DoS) condition.
Panorama, Cloud NGFW, and Prisma® Access are not impacted by these vulnerabilities.
Executive ViewAI
A buffer overflow vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS (versions 11.1.x, 11.2.x, 12.1.x) permits unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code or crash firewalls remotely, potentially compromising network perimeter defenses. This affects any organization relying on these PAN-OS versions as primary firewall infrastructure; exploitation could enable lateral movement into internal networks or sustained denial of service against critical security controls.
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Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
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EUVD-2026-30064
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NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
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