Report · ThreatpostAbout CVE-2022-0028Published 23 Aug 2022

Firewall Bug Under Active Attack Triggers CISA Warning

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Authoritative record:CVE-2022-0028· High 8.6

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 12 Sep 2022 · fixed in 10.2.2-h2 : patch PAN-OS now.

Data as of 2 Nov 2026, 22:57 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.6High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

KEV deadline: 12 Sep 2022 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
Patch: Available – fixed in 10.2.2-h2, 10.1.6-h6, 10.0.11-h1 +3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Aug 2022
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 12 days after disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE published
on cve.org
10 Aug 202216:00 UTC, t = 0
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
22 Aug 2022, 12 days after disclosure
In Threat Radar
record ingested
23 Aug 202200:00 UTC, 13 days after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
12 Sep 2022, 33 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS	Affected >=10.2 <10.2.2-h2	Fixed in 10.2.2-h2
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS	Affected >=10.1 <10.1.6-h6	Fixed in 10.1.6-h6
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS	Affected >=10.0 <10.0.11-h1	Fixed in 10.0.11-h1
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS	Affected >=9.1 <9.1.14-h4	Fixed in 9.1.14-h4
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS	Affected >=9.0 <9.0.16-h3	Fixed in 9.0.16-h3
Palo Alto NetworksPAN-OS	Affected >=8.1 <8.1.23-h1	Fixed in 8.1.23-h1

AI-suggested

Palo Alto Networks has released official patches for PAN-OS versions prior to 10.2.2-h2, 10.1.6-h6, 10.0.11-h1, 9.1.14-h4, 9.0.16-h3, and 8.1.23-h1. Organizations should apply these patches immediately to affected systems. The vulnerability requires a specific URL filtering policy configuration; reviewing and correcting firewall configurations to avoid assigning URL filtering profiles with blocked categories to security rules with external-facing source zones can mitigate risk. CISA strongly recommends prioritizing remediation of this vulnerability. Patch status is confirmed as official fixes are available.

Description

A high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2022-0028) in Palo Alto Networks' PAN-OS firewall software allows remote attackers to conduct reflected and amplified TCP denial-of-service (RDoS) attacks without authentication. The vulnerability affects certain PAN-OS versions prior to 10.2.2-h2, 10.1.6-h6, 10.0.11-h1, 9.1.14-h4, 9.0.16-h3, and 8.1.23-h1, and requires a specific non-standard firewall configuration involving URL filtering profiles with blocked categories assigned to security rules with external-facing source zones. CISA has issued a warning urging patching by September 9 and added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog. Palo Alto Networks has released patches for the affected versions.

Impact

Successful exploitation allows remote attackers to leverage vulnerable PAN-OS firewalls to conduct reflected and amplified TCP denial-of-service attacks against third-party targets without authentication. This can result in significant disruption to targeted networks or services by overwhelming them with amplified traffic. The vulnerability does not allow direct compromise of the firewall or its configuration but enables misuse of the firewall as a tool in denial-of-service attacks. The attack requires a specific non-standard firewall configuration, which is likely unintended by administrators. No additional exploitation beyond denial-of-service amplification has been reported.

Summary

The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-0028 in Palo Alto Networks' PAN-OS firewall software enables a network-based attacker to exploit a URL filtering policy misconfiguration to launch reflected and amplified TCP denial-of-service attacks. These attacks cause the firewall to send amplified traffic to a victim, effectively using the firewall as a reflector and amplifier in a denial-of-service attack. Exploitation requires a specific firewall configuration where a URL filtering profile with blocked categories is assigned to a security rule with a source zone that has an external-facing network interface. The affected products include PA-Series hardware, VM-Series virtual, and CN-Series container firewalls running vulnerable PAN-OS versions. Palo Alto Networks has released patches for multiple PAN-OS versions to address this issue. CISA has added this vulnerability to its KEV catalog and strongly recommends remediation.

References

threatpost.com/firewall-bug-under-active-attack-cisa-warning/180467/ (opens in a new tab)

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