CVE-2024-5921

Public Exploit
GlobalProtect App: Insufficient Certificate Validation Leads to Privilege Escalation

Description

An insufficient certification validation issue in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app enables attackers to connect the GlobalProtect app to arbitrary servers. This can enable a local non-administrative operating system user or an attacker on the same subnet to install malicious root certificates on the endpoint and subsequently install malicious software signed by the malicious root certificates on that endpoint. Please subscribe to our RSS feed https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/rss.xml to be alerted to new updates to this and other advisories.

Remediation

Solution:

  • This issue is fixed in GlobalProtect app 6.2.1-c31 on Linux, GlobalProtect app 6.2.6 on Windows, GlobalProtect app 6.2.6-c857 on macOS, GlobalProtect app 6.3.2 on Windows and macOS, and all later GlobalProtect app versions. Additional fixes are under development and will be made available for the remaining platforms (Linux, iOS, and Android). The fix for this vulnerability requires three steps: * Ensure that all of your GlobalProtect portals use TLS certificate chains that meet the criteria specified in the "FIPS-CC Certification Validation" table in our documentation https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/resolve-fips-cc-mode-issues . * Ensure that the TLS certificate chains used by the GlobalProtect portals are added to the root certificate store in your operating system. * Install a fixed version of GlobalProtect using one of the deployment options below. This setting enforces strict X.509v3 verification checks on the certificate provided by the GlobalProtect portal. Note: Prisma Access customers using portals with a *.gpcloudservice.com domain name already have valid TLS certificate chains. The root certificate for these portals is from GoDaddy, which is trusted by default in Windows, macOS, RHEL, Ubuntu, iOS, and Android. Therefore, Prisma Access customers using a GlobalProtect portal with a *.gpcloudservice.com domain name should only need to perform step 3 above. Important: If your GlobalProtect portals do not use valid X.509V3 TLS certificate chains, this will result in TLS verification failures. To generate a GlobalProtect portal certificate that can be used with a fixed version of GlobalProtect app, refer to the first "FIPS-CC Certification Validation" table in our documentation https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/resolve-fips-cc-mode-issues . Warning: Performance Concern: Some customers reported problems connecting to Portals and Gateways when this solution was implemented in certain situations. This is due to certificate providers that rate limit requests for Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) and certificate revocation list (CRL) checks. This happens when multiple users connect to GlobalProtect Portals from a single public IP (such as NAT) around the same time, such as when hundreds or thousands of end users connect around the start of a workday from a single office.

Workaround:

  • You can mitigate this issue for all platforms ( Windows https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode/enable-fips-cc-mode-using-the-windows-registry , macOS https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode/enable-fips-cc-mode-using-the-macos-property-list , Linux https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode/enable-fips-cc-mode-on-linux-endpoints-redhat , iOS https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode-using-workspaceone-on-ios-devices , Android https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode/enable-and-verify-fips-cc-mode-using-microsoft-intune-on-android-endpoints ) by using the GlobalProtect app 6.0 in FIPS-CC mode or GlobalProtect app 5.1 in FIPS-CC mode. For details, refer to the first "FIPS-CC Certification Validation" table in our documentation https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/resolve-fips-cc-mode-issues . Note: this is separate from any FIPS-CC configurations on any GlobalProtect portals or gateways. This workaround is specific to FIPS-CC mode on the GlobalProtect app. GlobalProtect portals or gateways do not need to use FIPS-CC mode as part of this workaround.

Category

7.1
CVSS
Severity: High
CVSS 4.0 •
EPSS 0.24%
Vendor Advisory paloaltonetworks.com
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Affected: Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App
Published at:
Updated at:

References

Link Tags
https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2024-5921 vendor advisory
https://blog.amberwolf.com/blog/2024/november/palo-alto-globalprotect---code-execution-and-privilege-escalation-via-malicious-vpn-server-cve-2024-5921/ exploit
https://github.com/AmberWolfCyber/NachoVPN exploit

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the severity of CVE-2024-5921?
CVE-2024-5921 has been scored as a high severity vulnerability.
How to fix CVE-2024-5921?
To fix CVE-2024-5921: This issue is fixed in GlobalProtect app 6.2.1-c31 on Linux, GlobalProtect app 6.2.6 on Windows, GlobalProtect app 6.2.6-c857 on macOS, GlobalProtect app 6.3.2 on Windows and macOS, and all later GlobalProtect app versions. Additional fixes are under development and will be made available for the remaining platforms (Linux, iOS, and Android). The fix for this vulnerability requires three steps: * Ensure that all of your GlobalProtect portals use TLS certificate chains that meet the criteria specified in the "FIPS-CC Certification Validation" table in our documentation https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/resolve-fips-cc-mode-issues . * Ensure that the TLS certificate chains used by the GlobalProtect portals are added to the root certificate store in your operating system. * Install a fixed version of GlobalProtect using one of the deployment options below. This setting enforces strict X.509v3 verification checks on the certificate provided by the GlobalProtect portal. Note: Prisma Access customers using portals with a *.gpcloudservice.com domain name already have valid TLS certificate chains. The root certificate for these portals is from GoDaddy, which is trusted by default in Windows, macOS, RHEL, Ubuntu, iOS, and Android. Therefore, Prisma Access customers using a GlobalProtect portal with a *.gpcloudservice.com domain name should only need to perform step 3 above. Important: If your GlobalProtect portals do not use valid X.509V3 TLS certificate chains, this will result in TLS verification failures. To generate a GlobalProtect portal certificate that can be used with a fixed version of GlobalProtect app, refer to the first "FIPS-CC Certification Validation" table in our documentation https://docs.paloaltonetworks.com/globalprotect/10-1/globalprotect-admin/certifications/resolve-fips-cc-mode-issues . Warning: Performance Concern: Some customers reported problems connecting to Portals and Gateways when this solution was implemented in certain situations. This is due to certificate providers that rate limit requests for Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) and certificate revocation list (CRL) checks. This happens when multiple users connect to GlobalProtect Portals from a single public IP (such as NAT) around the same time, such as when hundreds or thousands of end users connect around the start of a workday from a single office.
Is CVE-2024-5921 being actively exploited in the wild?
It is possible that CVE-2024-5921 is being exploited or will be exploited in a near future based on public information. According to its EPSS score, there is a ~0% probability that this vulnerability will be exploited by malicious actors in the next 30 days.
What software or system is affected by CVE-2024-5921?
CVE-2024-5921 affects Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App, Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App, Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App, Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App, Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App, Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App, Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect App.
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