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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2021-3053

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2021-09-08
  • Fixed in10.0.5 · 9.1.9 · 9.0.14 · 8.1.20
  • WeaknessCWE-755

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

An improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS dataplane that enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker to send specifically crafted traffic through the firewall that causes the service to crash. Repeated attempts to send this request result in denial of service to all PAN-OS services by restarting the device and putting it into maintenance mode. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.20; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.14; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.9; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.0.5. This issue does not affect Prisma Access.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2021-09-0817:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-3053?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2021-3053?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Palo Alto PAN-OS
BranchAffectedFixed in
10.0≥ 10.0.0, < 10.0.510.0.5
9.1≥ 9.1.0, < 9.1.99.1.9
9.0≥ 9.0.0, < 9.0.149.0.14
8.1≥ 8.1.0, < 8.1.208.1.20

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Palo Alto PAN-OS to 10.0.5 · 9.1.9 · 9.0.14 · 8.1.20

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CNACVSS 3.17.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.17.5read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.07.1read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-755read 2026-10-23
  • NVDweakness (CWE)CWE-755read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score1.0 %2026-10-22

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Published
2021-09-08
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-3053?

An improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS dataplane that enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker to send specifically crafted traffic through the firewall that causes the service to crash. Repeated attempts to send this request result in denial of service to all PAN-OS services by restarting the device and putting it into maintenance mode. This issue impacts: PAN-OS 8.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 8.1.20; PAN-OS 9.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.0.14; PAN-OS 9.1 versions earlier than PAN-OS 9.1.9; PAN-OS 10.0 versions earlier than PAN-OS 10.0.5. This issue does not affect Prisma Access.

Is CVE-2021-3053 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2021-3053 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 1.0% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-3053?

CVE-2021-3053 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

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Surveillance reads the versions in your stack — a domain, a lockfile or a list — checks each CVE against the ranges its sources publish, and alerts you when one you run is exploited or enters CISA KEV. A version it cannot read stays « version not verified ».

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