CVE-2020-2036 | PAN-OS: Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in management web interface

A reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in the PAN-OS management web interface. A remote attacker able to convince an administrator with an active authenticated session on the firewall management interface to click on a crafted link to that management web interface could potentially execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the administrator's browser and perform administrative actions. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.16; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.9.

Published: 2020-09-09 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-2036 is rated High Risk (74.9/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 77.56%, 99th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +16.83% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-2036

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-07 60.73% 77.56% +16.83%
2 2026-05-03 77.56% 60.73% -16.83%
3 2026-05-01 — 77.56% —

Full EPSS history (55 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-2036

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-2036

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-2036

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
paloaltonetworks pan-os >= 8.1.0, < 8.1.16 cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
paloaltonetworks pan-os >= 9.0.0, < 9.0.9 cpe:2.3:o:paloaltonetworks:pan-os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-2036

cvelogic Threat Intelligence