Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-6792

RCE in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os 8.1.0 – 8.1.24

RCECommand Injection
Published
13 December 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 0.011 64th percentile
Risk Priority 45 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-6792 is a medium-severity Argument Injection (CWE-88) vulnerability in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An OS command injection vulnerability in the XML API of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enables an authenticated API user to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with limited privileges on the firewall.

CWE(s)
CWE-88CWE-78

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
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 →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-9474Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-8686Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2023-6795Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2026-0273Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2026-0286Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-3400Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2023-6794Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-5911Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-3384Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
CVE-2024-2552Same product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os

Affected Assets

paloaltonetworks
pan-os
8.1.0 — 8.1.24 · 9.0.0 — 9.0.17 · 9.1.0 — 9.1.15

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

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.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

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 SDLC practices directly require proper input validation and command construction to prevent argument injection.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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 argument injection but does not prevent it at the source.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and command construction practices that directly prevent argument injection.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include explicit rules for safe command-line argument handling and escaping.

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

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe command invocation patterns and favor safer APIs.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly require proper neutralization of command arguments, directly eliminating CWE-88.

A.8.32 Change management none match
none

Change management can catch unsafe command patterns during reviews but is not a direct mitigation.

References