CVE-2016-9151

HIGH

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS <7.1.6 - Privilege Escalation

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 2 public exploits for CVE-2016-9151. PoCs published by Google Security Research.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages an unscrubbed environment in a setuid root executable to execute arbitrary Python code with elevated privileges. By setting PYTHONPATH to a directory containing a malicious script, an attacker can achieve local privilege escalation.

Description

Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS before 5.0.20, 5.1.x before 5.1.13, 6.0.x before 6.0.15, 6.1.x before 6.1.15, 7.0.x before 7.0.11, and 7.1.x before 7.1.6 allows local users to gain privileges via crafted values of unspecified environment variables.

Exploits (2)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Google Security Research · textlocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40788

This exploit leverages an unscrubbed environment in a setuid root executable to execute arbitrary Python code with elevated privileges. By setting PYTHONPATH to a directory containing a malicious script, an attacker can achieve local privilege escalation.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Palo Alto Networks root_trace (pre-fix version)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a system with vulnerable /usr/local/bin/root_trace · Ability to write files to /tmp or another writable directory
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Google Security Research · textlocallinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40789

The exploit demonstrates a command injection vulnerability in the setuid root utility `root_reboot` due to unsafe use of `system()` with attacker-controlled input. It shows two methods: direct injection via the `--restart` parameter and environment variable manipulation to achieve root command execution.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Palo Alto Networks root_reboot utility (pre-fix versions)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a system with vulnerable `root_reboot` binary · Binary must be setuid root
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (5)

Core 5
Core References
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40789/
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40788/
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94400
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_sectrack
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037381
Various Sources x_refsource_confirm
https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2016-9151

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0121
EPSS Percentile 64.3%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-264
Status published
Products (1)
paloaltonetworks/pan-os 5.0.0 - 5.0.20
Published Nov 19, 2016
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026