Highly exploitable, CVE-2020-1981 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕗 13 Mar 2020, 20:00 UTC
Originally published on: 🕖 11 Mar 2020, 19:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 2 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2020-1981: A predictable temporary filename vulnerability in PAN-OS allows local privilege escalation. This issue allows a local attacker who bypassed the restricted shell to execute commands as a low privileged user and gain root access on the PAN-OS hardware or virtual appliance. This issue affects only PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.13. This issue does not affect PAN-OS 7.1, PAN-OS 9.0, or later PAN-OS versions.
The exploitability of CVE-2020-1981 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2020-1981 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2020-1981, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2020-1981, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.
EPSS Score: 0.042% (probability of exploit)
EPSS Percentile: 5.02%
(lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 94.98% of others.
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