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CVE-2026-0261 Palo Alto Networks CVE debrief

CVE-2026-0261 is a medium-severity vulnerability (CVSS Score: 6.1) that affects Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software on PA-Series and VM-Series firewalls and on Panorama (virtual and M-Series). The vulnerability allows an authenticated administrator to bypass system restrictions and run arbitrary commands as a root user via the PAN-OS CLI or Web UI. The security risk is minimized when CLI access is restricted to a limited group of administrators and by restricting access to the management web interface to only trusted internal IP addresses. Cloud NGFW and Prisma Access are not impacted by these vulnerabilities.

Vendor
Palo Alto Networks
Product
Cloud NGFW
CVSS
HIGH 7.2
CISA KEV
Not listed in stored evidence
Original CVE published
2026-05-12
Original CVE updated
2026-07-02
Advisory published
2026-05-12
Advisory updated
2026-07-02

Who should care

Administrators of Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software on PA-Series and VM-Series firewalls and on Panorama (virtual and M-Series) should apply patches or mitigations to prevent exploitation.

Technical summary

Multiple command injection vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enable an authenticated administrator to bypass system restrictions and run arbitrary commands as a root user. To be able to exploit this issue, the user must have access to the PAN-OS CLI or Web UI.

Defensive priority

High

Recommended defensive actions

  • Restrict CLI access to a limited group of administrators.
  • Restrict access to the management web interface to only trusted internal IP addresses.
  • Apply patches or updates provided by Palo Alto Networks.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and details are sourced from official vulnerability databases and vendor notifications.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2026-0261 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-0261

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2026-0261 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-0261

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

Supplemental references

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2026-0261

    [email protected]

  • Source reference

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-967325.html

    0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.