Palo Alto PAN-OS Flaw Under Active Exploitation Enables Remote Code Execution

Ravie LakshmananMay 06, 2026Vulnerability / Network Security

Palo Alto Networks has released an advisory warning that a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in its PAN-OS software has been exploited in the wild.

Ravie LakshmananMay 06, 2026Vulnerability / Network Security

Palo Alto PAN-OS Flaw Under Active Exploitation Enables Remote Code Execution

Palo Alto Networks has released an advisory warning that a critical buffer overflow vulnerability in its PAN-OS software has been exploited in the wild.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-0300, has been described as a case of unauthenticated remote code execution. It carries a CVSS score of 9.3 if the User-ID Authentication Portal is configured to enable access from the internet or any untrusted network. The severity comes down to 8.7 if access to the portal is restricted to only trusted internal IP addresses.

“A buffer overflow vulnerability in the User-ID Authentication Portal (aka Captive Portal) service of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software allows an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the PA-Series and VM-Series firewalls by sending specially crafted packets,” the company said.

According to Palo Alto Networks, the vulnerability has come under “limited exploitation,” specifically targeting instances where the User-ID Authentication Portal has been left publicly accessible. The following versions are impacted by the flaw –

PAN-OS 12.1 – < 12.1.4-h5, < 12.1.7
PAN-OS 11.2 – < 11.2.4-h17, < 11.2.7-h13, < 11.2.10-h6, < 11.2.12
PAN-OS 11.1 – < 11.1.4-h33, < 11.1.6-h32, < 11.1.7-h6, < 11.1.10-h25, < 11.1.13-h5, < 11.1.15
PAN-OS 10.2 – < 10.2.7-h34, < 10.2.10-h36, < 10.2.13-h21, < 10.2.16-h7, < 10.2.18-h6

The issue, as it stands, is unpatched, with Palo Alto Networks planning to release fixes starting May 13, 2026. The company also said the vulnerability is applicable only to PA-Series and VM-Series firewalls that are configured to use the User-ID Authentication Portal.

“Customers following standard security best practices, such as restricting sensitive portals to trusted internal networks are at a greatly reduced risk,” it added.

In the absence of a patch, users are advised to either restrict User-ID Authentication Portal access to only trusted zones, or disable it entirely, if it’s not required.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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