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PAN-OS User-ID Authentication Portal buffer overflow, unauthenticated root RCE (CVSS 4.0 9.3), exploited by CL-STA-1132, CISA KEV 2026-05-06; fixed builds on every supported branch

cve · CVE-2026-0300

Coverage
1
first 2026-05-07 → last 2026-10-11
Latest activity
2026-05-13
A PAN-OS Captive Portal overflow gives unauthenticated attackers root on exposed firewalls; Unit 42 saw…
Peak priority
high
1 high
Targets
·
no sector or region stated
Sources cited
3
3 hosts

Action items (1)

Do-now tasks recorded on the entries about CVE-2026-0300, newest first. Check the date before acting on an older one.

  • Upgrade every PA-Series and VM-Series firewall with the User-ID Authentication Portal enabled to the fixed build for its branch (for example 12.1.4-h5, 11.2.10-h6, 11.1.13-h5 or 10.2.18-h6, per the advisory table); until then restrict the portal to trusted zones and disable Response Pages on untrusted L3 interfaces, and check any device that was exposed before patching for the Unit 42 post-exploitation behaviours.
    2026-05-12CVE-2026-0300

Defender insights

What each entry about CVE-2026-0300 tells a defender to do, newest first.

2026-05-12HIGHexploitedA PAN-OS Captive Portal overflow gives unauthenticated attackers root on exposed firewalls; Unit 42 saw tunnelling and AD enumeration afterwards

Exposure · detection

Story timeline

  1. 2026-05-12CVE-2026-0300: PAN-OS User-ID Authentication Portal unauthenticated root RCE, exploited by a likely state-sponsored cluster; fixed builds for every supported branch
    trending-vulnerabilitiesA PAN-OS Captive Portal overflow gives unauthenticated attackers root on exposed firewalls; Unit 42 saw tunnelling and AD enumeration afterwards
ATT&CK techniques (6 across 5 tactics)

6 techniques observed across 1 entry about this entity, derived from entry metadata and body evidence, never asserted without a published entry behind it · pinned to MITRE ATT&CK v20.0 · compare on the matrix · Navigator layer (JSON)

  • Initial AccessExploit Public-Facing Application
  • Privilege EscalationProcess Injection
  • StealthProcess Injection · Indicator Removal
  • DiscoveryAccount Discovery: Domain Account
  • Command and ControlProxy · Protocol Tunneling

Initial Access TA0001

T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application×1

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a software bug, a temporary glitch, or a misconfiguration.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

Privilege Escalation TA0004

T1055Process Injection×1

Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Process injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process. Running code in the context of another process may allow access to the process's memory, system/network resources, and possibly elevated privileges. Execution via process injection may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

Stealth TA0005

T1055Process Injection×1

Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. Process injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process. Running code in the context of another process may allow access to the process's memory, system/network resources, and possibly elevated privileges. Execution via process injection may also evade detection from security products since the execution is masked under a legitimate process.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

T1070Indicator Removal×1

Adversaries may selectively delete or modify artifacts generated to reduce indications of their presence and blend in with legitimate activity. Rather than broadly removing evidence, adversaries may target specific artifacts that appear anomalous or are likely to draw scrutiny, while leaving sufficient data intact to maintain the appearance of normal system behavior.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

Discovery TA0007

T1087.002Account Discovery: Domain Account×1

Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of domain accounts. This information can help adversaries determine which domain accounts exist to aid in follow-on behavior such as targeting specific accounts which possess particular privileges.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

Command and Control TA0011

T1090Proxy×1

Adversaries may use a connection proxy to direct network traffic between systems or act as an intermediary for network communications to a command and control server to avoid direct connections to their infrastructure. Many tools exist that enable traffic redirection through proxies or port redirection, including HTRAN, ZXProxy, and ZXPortMap. Adversaries use these types of proxies to manage command and control communications, reduce the number of simultaneous outbound network connections, provide resiliency in the face of connection loss, or to ride over existing trusted communications paths between victims to avoid suspicion. Adversaries may chain together multiple proxies to further disguise the source of malicious traffic.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

T1572Protocol Tunneling×1

Adversaries may tunnel network communications to and from a victim system within a separate protocol to avoid detection/network filtering and/or enable access to otherwise unreachable systems. Tunneling involves explicitly encapsulating a protocol within another. This behavior may conceal malicious traffic by blending in with existing traffic and/or provide an outer layer of encryption (similar to a VPN). Tunneling could also enable routing of network packets that would otherwise not reach their intended destination, such as SMB, RDP, or other traffic that would be filtered by network appliances or not routed over the Internet.

Evidence: 2026-05-12/palo-alto-pan-os-cve-2026-0300-first-wave-fixed-builds-now-s · ATT&CK page ↗

Entries about PAN-OS User-ID Authentication Portal buffer overflow, unauthenticated root RCE (CVSS 4.0 9.3), exploited by CL-STA-1132, CISA KEV 2026-05-06; fixed builds on every supported branch (1)

2026-05-12 · view entry permalink →

HIGHCVE-2026-0300exploitedupdatedNATOA1

CVE-2026-0300: PAN-OS User-ID Authentication Portal unauthenticated root RCE, exploited by a likely state-sponsored cluster; fixed builds for every supported branch

CVE-2026-0300 is a buffer overflow in the User-ID Authentication Portal (Captive Portal) service of PAN-OS that lets an unauthenticated attacker execute code with root privileges on PA-Series and VM-Series firewalls by sending crafted packets; Prisma Access, Cloud NGFW and Panorama are not affected (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT). Palo Alto scores it CVSS 4.0 9.3 where the portal is reachable from untrusted networks and 8.7 where it is restricted to trusted internal addresses, and reports limited exploitation against portals exposed to untrusted addresses or the internet (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT). CISA added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-05-06 (CISA KEV catalog, 2026-05-06). Fixed builds are listed for every supported branch: 12.1.4-h5 and 12.1.7; 11.2.4-h17, 11.2.7-h13, 11.2.10-h6 and 11.2.12; 11.1.4-h33, 11.1.6-h32, 11.1.7-h6, 11.1.10-h25, 11.1.13-h5 and 11.1.15; 10.2.7-h34, 10.2.10-h36, 10.2.13-h21, 10.2.16-h7 and 10.2.18-h6; older unsupported versions must move to a supported fixed version, and the advisory's table still marks 12.1.7 with an ETA of 05/28 (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT).

Unit 42 attributes the exploitation to CL-STA-1132, a cluster of likely state-sponsored activity: unsuccessful exploitation attempts began on 2026-04-09, and a week later the attackers achieved code execution and injected shellcode (Unit 42, 2026-05-07). They then cleared crash kernel messages and nginx crash entries and records, deployed the tunnelling tools EarthWorm and ReverseSocks5, enumerated Active Directory with the firewall's service-account credentials, and deleted ptrace injection evidence; on 2026-04-29 a SAML flood against the compromised device promoted a second device to active, inheriting the same internet-facing traffic, and that device was then targeted too (Unit 42, 2026-05-07).

Limited exploitation has been observed targeting Palo Alto Networks User-ID™ Authentication Portals that are exposed to untrusted IP addresses and/or the public internet.

Palo Alto Networks PSIRT
Updaterun 2026-05-13-c148b9a5actionscvesevidencetagsbody

Palo Alto Networks released the first wave of fixed PAN-OS builds on 2026-05-13, covering the 12.1, 11.2, 11.1 and 10.2 branches; the advisory still lists 12.1.7 with an ETA of 2026-05-28 (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT). Prisma Access, Cloud NGFW and Panorama remain unaffected, and Threat ID 510019 remains the interim control for unpatched devices on PAN-OS 11.1 or later (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT). CISA lists the flaw in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (CISA KEV catalog, 2026-05-06).

Correctionrun 2026-10-11T1307Z-audittitleheadlinesummaryevent_datetechniquesaffected_productscvessourcesevidencesourcing_noteclassificationactionsbody

Fixed builds are now listed for every supported PAN-OS branch, so the interim mitigation is no longer the only option (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT). Unit 42's date of 2026-04-09 marks the first unsuccessful exploitation attempts; the attackers achieved code execution a week later, and Unit 42 attributes the activity to a single likely state-sponsored cluster, CL-STA-1132, with exploitation described as limited (Unit 42, 2026-05-07). Threat ID 510019 requires PAN-OS 11.1 or later (Palo Alto Networks PSIRT).

vulnerability12 May 05:00Zmulti-sourceOpen finding →

Co-occurring entities

Derived: referenced by the same focused operational entries (weekly summaries and report roundups don't count); ×N counts the shared entries.

Where this entity is cited

  • Vulns1

Source distribution

  • cisa.gov1 (33%)
  • security.paloaltonetworks.com1 (33%)
  • unit42.paloaltonetworks.com1 (33%)