CVE-2026-0261 PAN-OS: Authenticated Admin Command Injection Vulnerability
Authenticated administrators can execute arbitrary root commands via CLI or Web UI, bypassing system restrictions on PAN-OS firewalls.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-0261?
CVE-2026-0261 is a medium-severity command injection vulnerability in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os, published on 13 May 2026. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
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.
The security risk posed by this issue is significantly 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 according to our recommended best practice deployment guidelines https://live.paloaltonetworks.com/t5/community-blogs/tips-amp-tricks-how-to-secure-the-management-access-of-your-palo/ba-p/464431 .
This issue is applicable to PAN-OS software on PA-Series and VM-Series firewalls and on Panorama (virtual and M-Series).
Cloud NGFW and Prisma Access® are not impacted by these vulnerabilities.
Weakness: CWE-78
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-0261?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os, Siemens Ruggedcom Ape1808 Firmware.
How do I fix CVE-2026-0261?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-0261 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2026-0261 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0261 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os
- CVE-2024-3400 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Command Injection
- CVE-2020-2021 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Authentication Bypass
- CVE-2017-15944 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2026-0300 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Out-of-bounds Write
- CVE-2024-0012 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Management Interface Authentication Bypass
Sources
Also known as GHSA-3jxr-6794-xw26.