Analysis Summary

Two vulnerabilities affecting the Palo Alto Networks Expedition software are being exploited in the wild, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned on Thursday.

It has included the vulnerabilities in its catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV), and agencies under the FCEB are required to implement the required patches by December 5, 2024. Following is a list of the vulnerabilities:

• CVE-2024-9463: A vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Expedition OS Command Injection
• CVE-2024-9465: A vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Expedition SQL Injection

An unauthenticated attacker might be able to execute arbitrary OS commands as root in the Expedition migration tool or expose its database contents if the vulnerabilities are successfully exploited. This could potentially make it possible to generate and read arbitrary files on the compromised system or reveal PAN-OS firewall device configurations, device API keys, usernames, and cleartext passwords.

On October 9, 2024, Palo Alto Networks released security patches that fixed these flaws. Since then, the business has updated its initial advisory to include an acknowledgment that it is aware of CISA reports indicating ongoing exploitation evidence for CVE-2024-9463 and CVE-2024-9465.

However, little is known about who is using these vulnerabilities, how they are being exploited, or how often these attacks are. Additionally, the development occurred one week after CISA alerted enterprises to the active exploitation of another significant Expedition vulnerability, CVE-2024-5910 (CVSS score: 9.3).

Impact

• Command Execution
• Data Manipulation

Indicators of Compromise

CVE

• CVE-2024-9463
• CVE-2024-9465

Affected Vendors

Remediation

• Refer to Palo Alto Networks Security Advisory for patch, upgrade, or suggested workaround information.
• Organizations must test their assets for the vulnerabilities mentioned above and apply the available security patch or mitigation steps as soon as possible.
• Implement multi-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security to login processes.
• Regularly monitor network activity for any unusual behavior, as this may indicate that a cyberattack is underway.
• Organizations must stay vigilant and follow best practices for cybersecurity to protect their systems and data from potential threats. This includes regularly updating software and implementing strong access controls and monitoring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to respond effectively in case of a security breach or data leakage.
• Maintain regular backups of critical data and systems to ensure data recovery in case of a security incident.
• Adhere to security best practices, including the principle of least privilege, and ensure that users and applications have only the necessary permissions.
• Establish a robust patch management process to ensure that security patches are evaluated, tested, and applied promptly.
• Conduct security audits and assessments to evaluate the overall security posture of your systems and networks.
• Implement network segmentation to contain and isolate potential threats to limit their impact on critical systems.