Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-0008

Path Traversal in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os 8.1.0 – 8.1.25

Path Traversal
Published
10 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0054 43th percentile
Risk Priority 36 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-0008 is a medium-severity External Control of File Name or Path (CWE-73) vulnerability in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os. Its CVSS base score is 4.4 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 43th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 InjectionA06:2025 Insecure Design

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A file disclosure vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enables an authenticated read-write administrator with access to the web interface to export local files from the firewall through a race condition.

CWE(s)
CWE-73CWE-610

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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 →
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.007 Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables used to load libraries.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-0111Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2023-38046Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2025-0124Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-5919Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2026-0281Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-5916Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-3384Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2026-0285Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-5917Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-2552Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os

Affected Assets

paloaltonetworks
pan-os
11.0.0 · 8.1.0 — 8.1.25 · 9.0.0 — 9.0.17 · 9.1.0 — 9.1.16

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-73

Rejects externally supplied file or resource identifiers that fail validity checks.

SI-22 Information Diversity
addresses: CWE-610

Limits impact of an externally controlled reference to a primary information resource by switching to an identified alternative.

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.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices include input validation and path sanitization that eliminate this weakness.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Least-privilege file authorization directly limits damage from externally controlled paths.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data flows can detect anomalous external resource accesses that result from this weakness.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Network segmentation and access controls limit the blast radius when an external reference escapes its intended sphere.

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.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing can detect path-traversal issues but does not itself implement preventive controls.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent external file/path manipulation.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against untrusted input influencing file operations.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe path construction but do not prescribe concrete file-name controls.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards require canonicalization, allow-listing, and bounds checks on file paths, directly eliminating CWE-73.

A.8.3 Information access restriction partial match
mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files can be reached, indirectly reducing impact of path manipulation.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-610

References