How severe is CVE-2020-2018?

CVE-2020-2018 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.0, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-2018 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (67th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-2018?

CVE-2020-2018 affects Paloaltonetworks Pan-os. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-2018?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2020-2018 published?

CVE-2020-2018 was published on 2020-05-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-2018

CVE-2020-2018 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Paloaltonetworks Pan-os with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.0. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-287.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.0)
CVSS v2: 9.3
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (67th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-287
Affected product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-os
Published: 2020-05-13
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An authentication bypass vulnerability in the Panorama context switching feature allows an attacker with network access to a Panorama's management interface to gain privileged access to managed firewalls. An attacker requires some knowledge of managed firewalls to exploit this issue. This issue does not affect Panorama configured with custom certificates authentication for communication between Panorama and managed devices. This issue affects: PAN-OS 7.1 versions earlier than 7.1.26; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.12; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.6; All versions of PAN-OS 8.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-2018?: An authentication bypass vulnerability in the Panorama context switching feature allows an attacker with network access to a Panorama's management interface to gain privileged access to managed firewalls. An attacker requires some knowledge of managed firewalls to exploit this issue. This issue does not affect Panorama configured with custom certificates authentication for communication between Panorama and managed devices. This issue affects: PAN-OS 7.1 versions earlier than 7.1.26; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than 8.1.12; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than 9.0.6; All versions of PAN-OS 8.0.
How severe is CVE-2020-2018?: CVE-2020-2018 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.0, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-2018 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (67th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-2018?: CVE-2020-2018 affects Paloaltonetworks Pan-os. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-2018?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2020-2018 published?: CVE-2020-2018 was published on 2020-05-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2020-2018

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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