# 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.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/AU:N/R:U/V:C/RE:M/U:Amber`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 May 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3jxr-6794-xw26

## 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 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-0261?

It affects 2 products.


Products: 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.

## 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](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-3400/): Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Command Injection (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-2021](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-2021/): Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Authentication Bypass (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-15944](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15944/): Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-0300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0300/): Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Out-of-bounds Write (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-0012](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-0012/): Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Management Interface Authentication Bypass (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-0261 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-0261 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Paloaltonetworks Pan-Os. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0261/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0261/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-0261
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-0261
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-0261

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0261/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.