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MediumCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Privilege Escalation in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Management Web Interface

IdentifiersCVE-2024-9474CWE-269

CVE-2024-9474 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS affecting the management web interface. According to the provided content, a PAN-OS administrator with access to the management web interface can perform actions on the firewall with root privileges, effectively enabling execution of root-level commands on the underlying device. The issue affects PAN-OS firewall devices; Cloud NGFW and Prisma Access are stated to be unaffected. The content does not identify the exact vulnerable function or code path, but consistently describes the flaw as residing in the PAN-OS web management interface and enabling escalation from administrator-level access to root on the firewall. The vulnerability has been reported as chainable with CVE-2024-0012, an authentication bypass in the PAN-OS management interface, allowing unauthenticated attackers to reach root-level compromise on exposed devices.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows elevation from PAN-OS administrator access in the management web interface to root privileges on the firewall. This gives an attacker full control of the affected device, including execution of root-level commands, administrative actions, configuration changes, deployment of malware or backdoors, persistence establishment, and use of the firewall as a pivot point for further intrusion activity. The supplied content also references observed post-exploitation activity including payload retrieval, web shell deployment, Sliver C2 use, reconnaissance, lateral movement, cryptomining, and reported deployment of LITTLELAMB.WOOLTEA in espionage activity when this flaw was exploited in the wild, especially when chained with CVE-2024-0012.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Restrict access to the PAN-OS management web interface to trusted internal IP addresses only and remove internet exposure wherever possible. Increase monitoring and detection for suspicious management-interface access and post-exploitation behavior, including unexpected command execution, payload retrieval via curl or wget, suspicious outbound TLS/C2 traffic, cron job creation, web shell artifacts, and anomalous administrative actions. If a device was internet-exposed or exploitation is suspected, isolate it, capture forensic data or snapshots as appropriate, and rebuild or restore it using updated software and standard hardening practices rather than relying on patching alone.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply Palo Alto Networks vendor fixes for affected PAN-OS releases. The provided content states affected versions included PAN-OS 10.2.0 before 10.2.12-h2, 11.0.0 before 11.0.6-h1, 11.1.0 before 11.1.5-h1, and 11.2.0 before 11.2.4-h1. Additional advisory guidance recommends upgrading supported branches to fixed releases such as 10.1.14-h9 or later, 10.2.13-h3 or later, 11.1.6-h1 or later, and 11.2.4-h4 or later where applicable to the broader chained-vulnerability exposure. PAN-OS 11.0 is end-of-life and should be upgraded to a supported fixed version. Because patching does not remediate prior compromise, organizations should also perform compromise assessment and incident response actions on potentially exposed or exploited devices.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

5 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.

VALID 5 / 5 TOTALView more in app
PanOsExploitMultitoolMaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository contains a single main exploit tool, PanOsExploitMultitool.py, written in Python. The tool targets Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS devices vulnerable to CVE-2024-0012 and CVE-2024-9474, providing exploitation and post-exploitation capabilities. The script supports several commands: - 'check': Tests if a target is vulnerable. - 'shell': Exploits the target to obtain a reverse shell by chunking and writing a base64-encoded bash shell payload to a writable directory, then executing it to connect back to the attacker's listener. - 'dump': Retrieves and decrypts credentials from the target's configuration files using a known AES master key, and can also extract the full running configuration. - 'local': Decrypts credentials from a local XML config file, useful for offline analysis. - 'decrypt': Interactively decrypts encrypted credential strings using the public master key. The tool interacts with the PAN-OS management interface over HTTPS (default port 443), and uses file paths such as /var/tmp/ and /opt/pancfg/mgmt/saved-configs/ on the target device. It is operational and provides real exploitation and credential extraction capabilities, not just detection. The repository includes a README with detailed usage instructions and references, a requirements.txt for dependencies, and an Apache 2.0 license.

Regent8SHDisclosed May 21, 2025pythonnetwork
CVE-2024-9474MaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository is a Go-based Proof of Concept (PoC) exploit for two vulnerabilities in Palo Alto PAN-OS: CVE-2024-0012 and CVE-2024-9474. The main exploit logic resides in 'main.go', which provides two modes: scan mode and exploit mode. In scan mode, the tool checks a list of target URLs for unauthenticated access to a specific endpoint, indicating vulnerability. In exploit mode, it provides an interactive shell for the user to execute arbitrary commands on a single vulnerable target. The exploit works by sending a specially crafted POST request to '/php/utils/createRemoteAppwebSession.php/peppa.js.map' with a payload that writes the output of a shell command to a web-accessible file, which is then retrieved by the tool. The repository includes a README with detailed usage instructions, a Go module definition, and a single Go source file implementing the exploit. The exploit targets network-accessible PAN-OS devices and leverages unauthenticated HTTP endpoints to achieve command execution.

arataneDisclosed Jan 16, 2025gonetwork
CVE-2024-0012_CVE-2024-9474_PoCMaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository contains a Python proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2024-0012 (authentication bypass) and CVE-2024-9474 (command execution) affecting Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS. The main file, 'CVE-2024-0012_CVE-2024-9474_Exploit_Palo_Alto_PAN-OS_PoC.py', automates the exploitation process: it first checks if the target is vulnerable, extracts a PHP session ID, generates a double-base64-encoded bash reverse shell payload, and uploads it in chunks to the target using a vulnerable PHP endpoint. The script then reconstructs and decodes the payload on the target, writes it to a shell script, and executes it, resulting in a reverse shell connection to the attacker's listener. The exploit leverages specific HTTP endpoints on the target PAN-OS device and uses temporary files for payload assembly. The repository also includes a detailed README with usage instructions, vulnerability descriptions, and references. The exploit is operational and provides a working reverse shell if the target is vulnerable and properly configured.

TalatumLabsDisclosed Dec 11, 2024pythonnetwork
CVE-2024-9474MaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository contains a Python exploit script (exploit_fw.py) targeting Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS devices vulnerable to CVE-2024-0012 and CVE-2024-9474. The exploit abuses a vulnerable PHP endpoint to inject a shell command (up to 19 characters) via a POST request, which writes the command output to a PHP file in a web-accessible directory on the target device. The script then retrieves the output by making a GET request to the created PHP file. The exploit requires the attacker to specify the target hostname and the command to execute. The README provides references to a blog post and social media for further context. The repository is structured simply, with one main exploit script and a README. The exploit is operational and demonstrates remote command execution, potentially allowing for further exploitation such as reverse shells.

k4nfr3Disclosed Nov 19, 2024pythonnetwork
CVE-2024-9474MaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository is a Go-based exploit tool targeting Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS, specifically for CVE-2024-9474 (and possibly CVE-2024-0012). The tool provides two main modes: a scan mode for batch testing multiple targets for authentication bypass, and an exploit mode that offers an interactive shell-like interface to execute arbitrary commands on a single target. The exploit works by sending a crafted POST request to a vulnerable endpoint, causing the target to execute arbitrary shell commands and write their output to a web-accessible file, which the tool then retrieves. The code is well-structured, with clear separation between scanning and exploitation logic, and uses several third-party Go libraries for argument parsing, progress bars, and colored output. The main entry point is 'main.go'. The tool is operational and provides real exploitation capabilities, not just detection. No hardcoded IPs or domains are present; the user supplies targets via command-line arguments or a file.

ChocapikkDisclosed Nov 19, 2024gonetwork
EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
PaloaltonetworksPan-Osoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware4

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures2

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity2

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.