CVE-2020-1989

Root privilege escalation via misprivileged file writes

Published Apr 8, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Incorrect privilege assignment in GlobalProtect App 5.0 before 5.0.8 and 5.1 before 5.1.1 allows local users to gain root access. The app assigns incorrect privileges while writing application-specific files, but Palo Alto Networks has not identified the files or published the faulty operation. Exploitation requires a locally authenticated account on an ARM-based Linux endpoint and grants full root control of the host.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect privilege assignment in GlobalProtect App 5.0 before 5.0.8 and 5.1 before 5.1.1 allows local users to gain root access. The app assigns incorrect privileges while writing application-specific files, but Palo Alto Networks has not identified the files or published the faulty operation. Exploitation requires a locally authenticated account on an ARM-based Linux endpoint and grants full root control of the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-1989
Published
Apr 8, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Palo Alto Networks
Product
GlobalProtect App
Classifications
CWE-266, CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 8, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.0 <5.0.8 changes=[{"at":"5.0.8","status":"unaffected"}]
  2. Affected versionversion=5.1 <5.1.1 changes=[{"at":"5.1.1","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Palo Alto Networks · GlobalProtect Appversion=5.0 <5.0.8 changes=[{"at":"5.0.8","status":"unaffected"}]; version=5.1 <5.1.1 changes=[{"at":"5.1.1","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0Palo Alto NetworksCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-266Incorrect Privilege Assignment
CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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