Guidance for CVE-2024-0012, CVE-2024-9474 affecting PAN-OS using Microsoft Security capabilities
A new critical vulnerability affecting PAN-OS has been identified and published last week, putting organizations using Palo Alto Networks’ firewalls at risk. In this blog post, we will demonstrate how you can use Microsoft Security tools discover assets in your organization that are vulnerable to the new critical unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) flaws in PAN-OS and provide guidelines on remediation. Additionally, we will show you how to use the capabilities of Attack Path analysis together with the Microsoft Security tools to identify how attackers could potentially gain access and reach critical assets in your organizations. Severity CVSS V4 B: 9.3 (CVSS V3: 9.8) Description of vulnerability An authentication bypass in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enables an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the management web interface to obtain administrator privileges, modify configurations, or exploit other vulnerabilities such as CVE-2024-9474 Does it have an Exploit? Yes, Palo Alto Networks is aware of an increasing number of attacks that leverage the exploitation of this vulnerability. Affected Versions This issue is applicable only to PAN-OS 10.2, PAN-OS 11.0, PAN-OS 11.1, and PAN-OS 11.2 software. Cloud NGFW and Prisma Access are not impacted by this vulnerability. Impact These vulnerabilities pose significant risks to organizations using PAN-OS. The authentication bypass vulnerability could allow unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems, while the privilege escalation vulnerability could enable attackers to gain higher-level permissions, potentially leading to full system compromise. When combined, these vulnerabilities can be particularly dangerous, as an attacker could first gain access through the authentication bypass and then escalate their privileges, maximizing the potential damage. It is crucial for organizations to promptly assess and mitigate these vulnerabilities to protect their network infrastructure and maintain security integrity. Recommendations for Mitigation and Best Practices Upgrade to the latest version of PAN-OS Secure Management Interface Access - Restrict access to the management interface to trusted IP addresses only, enhancing security by limiting potential attack vectors. Use features like JIT (just in time access) for reducing the risk of exploitation. Read more Minimize Exposure: JIT access ensures that the management interface is not continuously exposed, reducing the risk of unauthorized access Mapping CVE-2024-0012 and CVE-2024-9474 vulnerabilities in your organization The first step in managing an incident is to identify and map affected software within your organization’s assets. Using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Defender Vulnerability Management solution provides a comprehensive vulnerability assessment across all your devices. You can search the vulnerability by either searching for the CVE or for Pan-OS in the search function of Vulnerability Management weaknesses page, and then view the detailed list of the affected software within your organization Using Advanced Hunting To map the presence of CVE-2024-0012 or CVE-2024-9474 in your environment, you can use the following KQL query or this link. This query searches software vulnerabilities related to the specified CVE and summarizes them by device name, OS version and device ID: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities | where CveId in ("CVE-2024-0012", "CVE-2024-9474") | summarize by DeviceName, DeviceId, strcat(OSPlatform, " ", OSVersion), SoftwareName, SoftwareVersion Using Defender for Cloud Cloud Security Explorer You can use the Cloud Security Explorer feature within Defender for Cloud to perform queries related to your posture across Azure, AWS, GCP, and code repositories. This allows you to investigate the specific CVE, identify affected machines, and understand the associated risks. We have created specific queries for this CVE that help you to easily get an initial assessment of the threat this vulnerability creates for your organization, with choices for customization: Vulnerable virtual machines Vulnerable pods Defender for Cloud Attack path’s: Using attack path analysis, you can easily find all your exposed machines that are also potentially accessible for attackers. Use the following attack path title to filter the view only for exposed machines: Internet exposed Azure VM with PAN-OS vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-0012, CVE-2024-9474) Note: These attack path updates are rolling out and should be available for all customers within hours Recommendations for Mitigation and Best Practices Mitigating risks associated with vulnerabilities requires a combination of proactive measures and real-time defenses. Here are some recommendations: Apply Patches and Updates: Regularly update all software to fix known vulnerabilities. Use Defender Vulnerability Management for monitoring and enforcing patch compliance. Application Blocking: Use Defender Vulnerability Management to block vulnerable or malicious software when a CVE is assigned. Available only in Defender Vulnerability Management premium plans. (learn more). Remediate vulnerabilities: Follow Defender for Cloud’s recommendations to fix affected VMs and containers across your multi-cloud environment. (learn more). The "Emerging Threat" risk factor: Utilize Defender for Cloud’s risk factor to prioritize patching vulnerable resources. This factor is regularly updated to stay relevant. Exposure Management: Adopt a proactive security mindset by learning how Exposure Management can help you gain cross organizational visibility of your attack surface and any attack paths that come up due to new threats or vulnerabilities. Keep monitoring your environment using attack path analysis to block possible attack routes, using either the visualization tool under Exposure Management in Security.microsoft.com portal or the ‘graph-match’ KQL command (learn more). Proactively use Vulnerability Assessment security initiative in Exposure Management to aid in prioritization of critical assets. (learn more) Conclusion By following these guidelines and utilizing end-to-end integrated Microsoft Security products, organizations can better prepare for, prevent and respond to attacks, ensuring a more secure and resilient environment. While the preceding process provides a comprehensive approach to protecting your organization, continual monitoring, updating, and adapting to new threats are essential for maintaining robust security.Announcing Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management in public preview
Today, we are thrilled to announce the public preview of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, a single solution offering the full set of Microsoft’s vulnerability management capabilities to help take your threat protection to the next level.
