Controller impersonation via improper certificate validation
Published May 13, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026
Improper certificate validation in Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN ION allows man-in-the-middle attackers to impersonate the controller. The ION device establishes its management TLS session to the controller with a device certificate, but the vendor has not disclosed which controller-certificate check fails. An unauthenticated attacker must occupy an adjacent network position and intercept that session; no special ION configuration is required, and successful impersonation compromises device data and control.
Summary
What happened
Improper certificate validation in Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN ION allows man-in-the-middle attackers to impersonate the controller. The ION device establishes its management TLS session to the controller with a device certificate, but the vendor has not disclosed which controller-certificate check fails. An unauthenticated attacker must occupy an adjacent network position and intercept that session; no special ION configuration is required, and successful impersonation compromises device data and control.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-0244
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Updated
- May 13, 2026
- Vendor
- Palo Alto Networks
- Product
- Prisma SD-WAN ION
- Classifications
- CWE-295, CAPEC-94, T1557
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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- Affected versionversion=6.3.0 <6.3.6-b10 changes=[{"at":"6.3.6-b10","status":"unaffected"}]
- Affected versionversion=6.4.0 <6.4.3-b8 changes=[{"at":"6.4.3-b8","status":"unaffected"}]
- Affected versionversion=6.5.0 <6.5.3-b15 changes=[{"at":"6.5.3-b15","status":"unaffected"}]
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Attacks
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Technologies
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