CVE-2020-2040
PAN-OS: Buffer overflow when Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is enabled
A buffer overflow vulnerability in PAN-OS allows an unauthenticated attacker to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges by sending a malicious request to the Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication interface. This issue impacts: All versions of PAN-OS 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
PAN-OS: Buffer overflow when Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is enabled
A buffer overflow vulnerability in PAN-OS allows an unauthenticated attacker to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges by sending a malicious request to the Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication interface. This issue impacts: All versions of PAN-OS 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3.
- Record
CVE-2020-2040- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-22066
A buffer overflow vulnerability in PAN-OS allows an unauthenticated attacker to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges by sending a malicious request to the Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication interface. This issue impacts: All versions of PAN-OS 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3.
- Record
EUVD-2020-22066- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-pf79-9hv7-chg5 No score
A buffer overflow vulnerability in PAN-OS allows an unauthenticated attacker to disrupt system...
A buffer overflow vulnerability in PAN-OS allows an unauthenticated attacker to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges by sending a malicious request to the Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication interface. This issue impacts: All versions of PAN-OS 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3.
- Record
GHSA-pf79-9hv7-chg5- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A buffer overflow vulnerability in PAN-OS allows an unauthenticated attacker to disrupt system processes and potentially execute arbitrary code with root privileges by sending a malicious request to the Captive Portal or Multi-Factor Authentication interface. This issue impacts: All versions of PAN-OS 8.0; PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.15; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.3.
- Record
CVE-2020-2040- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 10.0 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-2040 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Palo Alto Networks Pan-os, published September 9, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.94%, the 90th percentile. No source names a fixed version.