Security Resilience

CVE-2019-1579

Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os ≤ 7.1.19

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linked
Published
19 July 2019
Modified
02 October 2026
KEV Added
10 January 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.1
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.46 99th percentile
Risk Priority 86 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2019-1579 is a high-severity Use of Externally-Controlled Format String (CWE-134) vulnerability in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique LSASS Memory (T1003.001); ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is a remote code execution flaw, tracked as CVE-2019-1579 and associated with CWE-134, that affects PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11-h1 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier when the GlobalProtect Portal or GlobalProtect Gateway interface is enabled. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1 with a network attack vector, high complexity, no required privileges or user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the flaw over the network to execute arbitrary code on the affected device. Successful exploitation grants the attacker full control of the target system, enabling actions that compromise data confidentiality, system integrity, and service availability.

Palo Alto Networks has published an advisory at security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2019-1579 detailing the affected versions and remediation steps. Public analysis, including a detailed report referencing Uber as a case study, demonstrates practical pre-authentication exploitation of the GlobalProtect SSL VPN interfaces.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Remote Code Execution in PAN-OS 7.1.18 and earlier, PAN-OS 8.0.11-h1 and earlier, and PAN-OS 8.1.2 and earlier with GlobalProtect Portal or GlobalProtect Gateway Interface enabled may allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.

CWE(s)
CWE-134
KEV Date Added
10 January 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-0108Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2024-0012Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2025-0111Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2024-9474Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2024-3400Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2020-2021Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2022-0028Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2017-15944Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Osboth on KEV
CVE-2026-0280Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2026-0288Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os

Affected Assets

paloaltonetworks
pan-os
≤ 7.1.19 · 8.0.0 — 8.0.12 · 8.1.0 — 8.1.3

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification can discover existing format-string flaws but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent external format strings via code review, static analysis, and safe APIs.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References