Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-38046

Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os 10.2.0 – 10.2.4

Published
12 July 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0046 38th percentile
Risk Priority 43 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-38046 is a medium-severity Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere (CWE-610) vulnerability in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 38th 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 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability exists in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software that enables an authenticated administrator with the privilege to commit a specifically created configuration to read local files and resources from the system.

CWE(s)
CWE-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 →
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-2023-0008Same 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-2024-3384Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2026-0285Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-5916Same 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 · 10.2.0 — 10.2.4

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)

—

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-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 mostly match
prevents

Secure development practices directly require input validation and reference sanitization that prevent externally-controlled resource references.

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 instances of the weakness but does not prevent it at design or coding time.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates validation of all external references to prevent uncontrolled resource access.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against externally supplied resource identifiers.

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

Secure architecture principles reduce the attack surface for externally controlled references but do not prescribe specific validation rules.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards require input validation and canonicalization to block externally controlled resource references.

A.8.3 Information access restriction partial match
mitigates

Information access restriction limits what resources can be reached, indirectly reducing impact of external references.

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