🚨 CVE-2026-0257 – PAN-OS GlobalProtect Authentication Bypass

Security research, technical analysis, detection guidance, IOC collection, and defensive validation resources for CVE-2026-0257.

📌 Overview

CVE-2026-0257 is an authentication bypass vulnerability affecting Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect Portal and Gateway deployments running vulnerable PAN-OS versions under specific configurations.

The vulnerability stems from improper trust of Authentication Override cookies, allowing attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms and establish unauthorized VPN connections when exposed configurations are present.

Vendor Severity: HIGH CVSS v4: 7.8 Exploitation Status: Actively Exploited in the Wild CISA KEV: Added

⚡ Impact

An attacker may be able to:

• Bypass authentication controls
• Establish unauthorized VPN sessions
• Access internal network resources
• Impersonate legitimate users
• Launch post-authentication attacks against enterprise environments

✨ Features

🏗 Scanner Workflow

Target
  │
  ▼
Retrieve TLS Certificates
  │
  ▼
Extract Public Keys
  │
  ▼
Generate Validation Cookie
  │
  ▼
Test GlobalProtect Portal
  │
  ▼
Test GlobalProtect Gateway
  │
  ▼
Determine Exposure
  │
  ▼
Generate Report

📦 Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• cryptography
• Internet Connectivity
• Valid Target Access

Supported Platforms

• Kali Linux
• Ubuntu
• Debian
• CentOS
• macOS
• Windows (WSL)

🚀 Installation

git clone https://github.com/grayxploit/CVE-2026-0257.git
cd CVE-2026-0257

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

pip install -r requirements.txt

📖 Usage

Scan a Single Target

python3 CVE-2026-0257.py \
-u https://vpn.company.com

Scan Multiple Targets

python3 CVE-2026-0257.py \
-l targets.txt \
-t 20 \
-o vulnerable.txt

Custom Username

python3 CVE-2026-0257.py \
-u https://vpn.company.com \
--user testuser

Verbose Mode

python3 CVE-2026-0257.py \
-u https://vpn.company.com \
-v

📊 Example Output

[*] Scanning vpn.company.com:443

[!!!] VULNERABLE DETECTED

Target: vpn.company.com
Context: gateway
Certificate: CN=GP-LAB-CA
Status: Authentication Override Accepted

================================================

🔬 Detection Methodology

The scanner:

1. Retrieves the target TLS certificate chain.
2. Extracts available public keys.
3. Generates validation authentication cookies.
4. Tests both GlobalProtect Gateway and Portal contexts.
5. Identifies vulnerable configurations.
6. Produces actionable results for remediation.

🛡 Recommended Mitigations

• Upgrade PAN-OS immediately.
• Disable Authentication Override when possible.
• Use a dedicated Authentication Override certificate.
• Review VPN logs for suspicious cookie-based authentications.
• Investigate any IOC matches.

⚠ Responsible Usage

This tool is intended exclusively for:

• Authorized Security Assessments
• Internal Exposure Validation
• Vulnerability Management
• Detection Engineering
• Security Research

Do not scan systems without explicit authorization.

👨‍💻 Developed By

GrayXploit Security Research Team

Cyber Security • Threat Research • Red Teaming • Vulnerability Research

GitHub: https://github.com/grayxploit

⭐ Support The Project

If this project helps your organization:

• Star the repository
• Share with defenders
• Report issues responsibly
• Contribute improvements via Pull Requests

Maintained by GrayXploit Security Research Team