CVE-2025-0123: PAN-OS Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CVE-2025-0123 Overview

A vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® software allows unlicensed administrators to view clear-text data captured using the packet capture feature in decrypted HTTP/2 data streams traversing network interfaces on the firewall. This information disclosure vulnerability bypasses the intended licensing controls that restrict access to decrypted packet capture functionality.

Under normal conditions, decrypted packet captures are only available to firewall administrators after obtaining and installing a free Decryption Port Mirror license. This license requirement ensures that the feature can only be used after approved personnel purposefully activate it. However, this vulnerability allows administrators without the required license to access sensitive decrypted traffic data for HTTP/2 streams specifically, while HTTP/1.1 data streams remain unaffected.

Critical Impact

Unauthorized access to clear-text decrypted HTTP/2 traffic data by administrators without proper licensing, potentially exposing sensitive communications traversing the firewall.

Affected Products

• Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS® software (vulnerable versions)
• Network firewalls running affected PAN-OS versions
• Note: Cloud NGFW and Prisma® Access are not impacted

Discovery Timeline

• April 11, 2025 - CVE-2025-0123 published to NVD
• April 15, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-0123

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and represents an authorization bypass in the PAN-OS packet capture functionality. The core issue lies in the improper enforcement of license verification when accessing decrypted packet capture data.

The vulnerability specifically affects decrypted HTTP/2 data streams, suggesting that the license check mechanism may have an implementation gap in how it handles the newer HTTP/2 protocol compared to HTTP/1.1. While the Decryption Port Mirror license is designed to gate access to decrypted traffic captures, administrators can circumvent this control for HTTP/2 traffic without possessing the required license.

Exploitation requires authenticated access to the firewall's management interface through web, SSH, console, or telnet connections. This means an attacker would need to be an existing administrator or have compromised administrator credentials to exploit this vulnerability.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient license validation in the packet capture feature when handling HTTP/2 decrypted traffic. The licensing mechanism that controls access to decrypted packet captures fails to properly enforce restrictions for HTTP/2 protocol streams, creating an authorization gap. This allows administrators who have not installed the Decryption Port Mirror license to access sensitive decrypted data that should be restricted.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access to the firewall management interface, meaning an attacker must:

1. Have network connectivity to the PAN-OS management interface (web, SSH, console, or telnet)
2. Successfully authenticate as an administrator on the device
3. Utilize the packet capture feature to capture decrypted HTTP/2 traffic

The attack does not require any special exploit code or tooling—an authenticated administrator simply needs to use the existing packet capture functionality to access data that should be license-restricted. The vulnerability represents a privilege boundary violation within the administrative access model.

Since no verified code examples are available for this vulnerability, the exploitation mechanism relies on standard administrative functions within PAN-OS. Administrators can access the packet capture feature through the management interface and capture decrypted HTTP/2 streams without the normally required Decryption Port Mirror license being installed. For detailed technical information, refer to the Palo Alto Networks Security Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-0123

Indicators of Compromise

• Packet capture activities performed by administrators without the Decryption Port Mirror license installed
• Unusual access to decrypted traffic data in audit logs
• HTTP/2 traffic captures being generated on systems without proper licensing
• Administrative sessions accessing packet capture features from unexpected IP addresses

Detection Strategies

• Review PAN-OS administrative audit logs for packet capture activities and correlate with license status
• Monitor for administrators accessing decryption-related features without the Decryption Port Mirror license
• Implement alerting on packet capture operations from non-standard administrative accounts
• Audit management interface access patterns for anomalous behavior

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging for all administrative actions on PAN-OS devices
• Implement SIEM rules to correlate packet capture activities with license verification status
• Monitor management interface access from non-internal IP addresses
• Regularly audit administrator accounts and their associated permissions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-0123

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict management interface access to only trusted administrators from internal IP addresses
• Review and implement Palo Alto Networks' recommended critical deployment guidelines for securing management access
• Audit current administrator accounts and remove unnecessary administrative privileges
• Verify that management interfaces are not exposed to untrusted networks

Patch Information

Palo Alto Networks has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Administrators should consult the Palo Alto Networks Security Advisory for specific patched versions and upgrade guidance. Apply the appropriate security patches as soon as possible to remediate this authorization bypass vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Restrict access to the management interface to only trusted internal IP addresses following Palo Alto Networks' deployment guidelines
• Implement network segmentation to limit which systems can reach the firewall management interface
• Use multi-factor authentication for all administrative access to reduce the risk of compromised credentials
• Consider implementing additional access controls such as jump servers for administrative access

# Example: Restrict management interface access (conceptual)
# Implement management interface access restrictions per Palo Alto Networks guidelines
# Configure allowed management IP addresses in PAN-OS
# Ensure management interface is on isolated management network
# Enable multi-factor authentication for admin access