CVE-2020-2002Network attack vector

Administrator authentication bypass via unverified Kerberos KDC

Published May 13, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Authentication bypass in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS allows man-in-the-middle attackers to log in as administrators through Kerberos. The authentication daemon and User-ID components accept a spoofed Kerberos KDC without verifying its integrity before authenticating the supplied identity. Exploitation requires interception of PAN-OS-to-KDC traffic and a Kerberos authentication profile; successful spoofing grants administrator access.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability1.30%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS allows man-in-the-middle attackers to log in as administrators through Kerberos. The authentication daemon and User-ID components accept a spoofed Kerberos KDC without verifying its integrity before authenticating the supplied identity. Exploitation requires interception of PAN-OS-to-KDC traffic and a Kerberos authentication profile; successful spoofing grants administrator access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-2002
Published
May 13, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Palo Alto Networks
Product
PAN-OS
Classifications
CWE-290, T1557
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 13, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=7.1 <7.1.26 changes=[{"at":"7.1.26","status":"unaffected"}]
  2. Affected versionversion=8.0.*
  3. Affected versionversion=8.1 <8.1.13 changes=[{"at":"8.1.13","status":"unaffected"}]
  4. Affected versionversion=9.0 <9.0.6 changes=[{"at":"9.0.6","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Palo Alto Networks · PAN-OSversion=7.1 <7.1.26 changes=[{"at":"7.1.26","status":"unaffected"}]; version=8.0.*; version=8.1 <8.1.13 changes=[{"at":"8.1.13","status":"unaffected"}]; version=9.0 <9.0.6 changes=[{"at":"9.0.6","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

8.1Palo Alto NetworksCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-290Authentication Bypass by Spoofing
T1557Adversary-in-the-Middle

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo