Palo Alto Firewalls Found Vulnerable to Secure Boot Bypass and Firmware Exploits
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2020-10713 | A flaw was found in grub2, prior to version 2.06. A flaw was found in grub2, prior to version 2.06. An attacker may use the GRUB 2 flaw to hijack and tamper the GRUB verification process. This flaw also allows the bypass of Secure Boot protections. In order to load an untrusted or modified kernel, an attacker would first need to establish access to the system such as gaining physical access, obtain the ability to alter a pxe-boot network, or have remote access to a networked system with root access. With this access, an attacker could then craft a string to cause a buffer overflow by injecting a malicious payload that leads to arbitrary code execution within GRUB. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability. NVD description · AI analysis pending | 8.2 | 2% |
| — | ||
| CVE-2021-42060 | An issue was discovered in Insyde InsydeH2O Kernel 5.0 through 05.08.41, Kernel 5.1 through 05.16.41, Kernel 5.2 before 05.23.22, and Kernel 5.3 before 05.32.22. An issue was discovered in Insyde InsydeH2O Kernel 5.0 through 05.08.41, Kernel 5.1 through 05.16.41, Kernel 5.2 before 05.23.22, and Kernel 5.3 before 05.32.22. An Int15ServiceSmm SMM callout vulnerability allows an attacker to hijack execution flow of code running in System Management Mode. Exploiting this issue could lead to escalating privileges to SMM. NVD description · AI analysis pending | 8.2 group max | <1% |
| — | ||
| CVE-2021-45970 | An issue was discovered in IdeBusDxe in Insyde InsydeH2O with kernel 5.1 before 05.16.25, 5.2 before 05.26.25, 5.3 before 05.35.25, 5.4 before 05.43.25, and 5.5 An issue was discovered in IdeBusDxe in Insyde InsydeH2O with kernel 5.1 before 05.16.25, 5.2 before 05.26.25, 5.3 before 05.35.25, 5.4 before 05.43.25, and 5.5 before 05.51.25. A vulnerability exists in the SMM (System Management Mode) branch that registers a SWSMI handler that does not sufficiently check or validate the allocated buffer pointer (the status code saved at the CommBuffer+4 location). NVD description · AI analysis pending | 8.2 | <1% |
| — | ||
| CVE-2023-1017 | An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in TPM2.0's Module Library allowing writing of a 2-byte data past the end of TPM2.0 command in the CryptParameterDec An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in TPM2.0's Module Library allowing writing of a 2-byte data past the end of TPM2.0 command in the CryptParameterDecryption routine. An attacker who can successfully exploit this vulnerability can lead to denial of service (crashing the TPM chip/process or rendering it unusable) and/or arbitrary code execution in the TPM context. NVD description · AI analysis pending | 7.8 | 1% |
| — |
Full article713 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse
Ravie LakshmananJan 23, 2025Firmware Security / Vulnerability
An exhaustive evaluation of three firewall models from Palo Alto Networks has uncovered a host of known security flaws impacting the devices' firmware as well as misconfigured security features.
"These weren't obscure, corner-case vulnerabilities," security vendor Eclypsium said in a report shared with The Hacker News.
"Instead these were very well-known issues that we wouldn't expect to see even on a consumer-grade laptop. These issues could allow attackers to evade even the most basic integrity protections, such as Secure Boot, and modify device firmware if exploited."
The company said it analyzed three firewall appliances from Palo Alto Networks, PA-3260, PA-1410, and PA-415, the first of which officially reached end-of-sale on August 31, 2023. The other two models are fully supported firewall platforms.
The list of identified flaws, collectively named PANdora's Box, is as follows -
- CVE-2020-10713 aka BootHole (Affects PA-3260, PA-1410, and PA-415), refers to a buffer overflow vulnerability that allows for a Secure Boot bypass on Linux systems with the feature enabled
- CVE-2022-24030, CVE-2021-33627, CVE-2021-42060, CVE-2021-42554, CVE-2021-43323, and CVE-2021-45970 (Affects PA-3260), which refers to a set of System Management Mode (SMM) vulnerabilities affecting Insyde Software's InsydeH2O UEFI firmware that could lead to privilege escalation and Secure Boot bypass
- LogoFAIL (Affects PA-3260), which refers to a set of critical vulnerabilities discovered in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) code that exploit flaws in image parsing libraries embedded in the firmware to bypass Secure Boot and execute malicious code during system startup
- PixieFail (Affects PA-1410 and PA-415), which refers to a set of vulnerabilities in the TCP/IP network protocol stack incorporated in the UEFI reference implementation that could lead to code execution and information disclosure
- Insecure flash access control vulnerability (Affects PA-415), which refers to a case of misconfigured SPI flash access controls that could permit an attacker to modify UEFI directly and bypass other security mechanisms
- CVE-2023-1017 (Affects PA-415), which refers to an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 reference library specification
- Intel bootguard leaked keys bypass (Affects PA-1410)
"These findings underscore a critical truth: even devices designed to protect can become vectors for attack if not properly secured and maintained," Eclypsium said. "As threat actors continue to target security appliances, organizations must adopt a more comprehensive approach to supply chain security."
"This includes rigorous vendor assessments, regular firmware updates, and continuous device integrity monitoring. By understanding and addressing these hidden vulnerabilities, organizations can better protect their networks and data from sophisticated attacks that exploit the very tools meant to safeguard them."
Update
When reached for comment, Palo Alto Networks shared the below statement with The Hacker News -
The security of our customers is our top priority. Palo Alto Networks is aware of recently published research from Eclypsium regarding potential vulnerabilities affecting some of our Next Generation Firewall products.
The Palo Alto Networks Product Security Incident Response Team evaluated this potential vulnerability. It determined that the scenarios required for successful exploitation do not exist on up-to-date PAN-OS software under normal conditions with secured management interfaces deployed according to best practice guidelines. Palo Alto Networks is not aware of any malicious exploitation of these issues. We stand by the quality and integrity of our technology.
While the conditions required to exploit these vulnerabilities are not available to users or administrators of PAN-OS software, we are working with the third-party vendor to develop any mitigations that may be needed. We will provide further updates and guidance to impacted customers as they become available.
In a separate advisory, Palo Alto Networks also emphasized that exploiting the aforementioned flaws require an attacker to first compromise PAN-OS software through other means and obtain elevated privileges to access or modify the BIOS firmware. It further said the risk is greatly mitigated by upgrading to the latest supported versions.
However, the company acknowledged it's working with third-party vendors to develop firmware updates for the six vulnerabilities flagged in InsydeH2O UEFI firmware that may be needed for PA-3200 series, PA-5200 series and PA-7200 series with Switch Management Card (SMC-B) installed.
(The story was updated after publication to include a response from Palo Alto Networks.)
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