What is CVE-2022-0018?A medium-severity flaw in Globalprotect, explained.

Medium severity3 affected products
The short answer

CVE-2022-0018 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 6.5) in Globalprotect from Palo Alto Networks, published on 10 February 2022. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 0.7%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.

Published 10 February 2022. Record last updated 17 February 2022. We keep this page's data up to date.

What it does

What is CVE-2022-0018? In plain terms.

It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, but a person has to take an action first. If it works, the attacker can read data.

The official description

An information exposure vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app on Windows and MacOS where the credentials of the local user account are sent to the GlobalProtect portal when the Single Sign-On feature is enabled in the GlobalProtect portal configuration. This product behavior is intentional and poses no security risk when connecting to trusted GlobalProtect portals configured to use the same Single Sign-On credentials both for the local user account as well as the GlobalProtect login. However when the credentials are different, the local account credentials are inadvertently sent to the GlobalProtect portal for authentication. A third party MITM type of attacker cannot see these credentials in transit. This vulnerability is a concern where the GlobalProtect app is deployed on Bring-your-Own-Device (BYOD) type of clients with private local user accounts or GlobalProtect app is used to connect to different organizations. Fixed versions of GlobalProtect app have an app setting to prevent the transmission of the user's local user credentials to the target GlobalProtect portal regardless of the portal configuration. This issue impacts: GlobalProtect app 5.1 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.1.10 on Windows and MacOS; GlobalProtect app 5.2 versions earlier than GlobalProtect app 5.2.9 on Windows and MacOS This issue does not affect GlobalProtect app on other platforms.

What kind of flaw is it?

  • CWE-200Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
  • CWE-201Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data
CVSS 3.1 scoreMedium · 6.5

How an attack on it works

Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.

  • Where an attacker can beAnywhere on the internet
  • How hard it is to pull offEasy: no special conditions
  • Login needed firstNo login needed
  • Does someone have to clickYes, a person has to take an action
  • What an attacker getsCan read data

Severity vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Exploitation

Is CVE-2022-0018 being exploited? Not that we know of.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.7%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

Known to be exploitedNoNot on the list of exploited flaws today
Chance of use in the next 30 days0.7%Its EPSS score, from the latest forecast

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Record last updated
How Precursor Intelligence ranks it
25out of 100Low

CVE-2022-0018 scores 25. Action: Monitor.

We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:

  • Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
  • How severe it isStrong factor
  • How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
  • Threat activity around itSmaller factor

85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.

When CVE-2022-0018 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.

See your own ranked list →
Affected products

Who is affected by CVE-2022-0018? 3 products.

The published record lists 3 products from 3 vendors. Versions are shown as published: "5.1 to before 5.1.10" means from 5.1 up to, but not including, 5.1.10. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.

Remediation

How do I fix CVE-2022-0018? Four steps.

  1. Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
  2. Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the update named in the vendor’s advisory. We’ve put the advisory first in the list.
  3. If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
  4. Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.
Precursor Intelligence

Does CVE-2022-0018 affect you? We'll keep checking.

Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.

  1. Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
  2. We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
  3. Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
  4. Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.

Free plan, no card needed. Nothing to install.

FAQ

Common questions, answered plainly.

Something else? Talk to the team →

CVE-2022-0018 is a medium-severity flaw in Globalprotect from Palo Alto Networks, published on 10 February 2022. It can be attacked from anywhere on the internet without logging in, but a person has to take an action first. If it works, the attacker can read data.

It scores 6.5 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2022-0018 is 25 out of 100, which is Low. Its action is "Monitor". No sign of exploitation and a low forecast. Patch it in your normal update cycle.

It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.7%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.

For Globalprotect from Palo Alto Networks: 5.1 to before 5.1.10, 5.2 to before 5.2.9. The record lists 3 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.

Install the update the vendor names in its advisory, linked first under "How do I fix" on this page. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.