Detect Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Out-of-bounds Write (CVE-2026-0300) in Elastic Security
Detects exploitation attempts targeting CVE-2026-0300, an out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) and may allow attackers to execute arbitrary code, crash the device, or escalate privileges on affected PAN-OS appliances. Detection focuses on anomalous management plane activity, unexpected process crashes, memory corruption indicators, and suspicious inbound traffic patterns targeting PAN-OS management interfaces.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Initial Access Execution Impact
Elastic Detection Query
sequence by host.name with maxspan=10m
[network where
destination.port in (443, 4443, 8443) and
network.direction == "inbound" and
event.dataset == "panw.panos"
] with runs=5
[process where
event.dataset == "panw.panos" and
(
process.name in ("sslmgrd", "pan_gp", "configd", "authd", "pan_comm") and
event.action in ("end", "crash", "terminate") and
process.exit_code != 0
)
]Elastic EQL sequence detection for CVE-2026-0300. Correlates a burst of inbound connections to PAN-OS management ports followed by abnormal process termination of core PAN-OS daemons, indicative of memory corruption exploitation.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Planned PAN-OS content or software updates that restart management daemons
- Network load balancer health checks generating bursts of connections to management ports
- Legitimate high-frequency API polling from SIEM or SOAR integrations
- Process monitoring tools that track daemon lifecycle and generate false termination events
Other platforms for CVE-2026-0300
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Simulate malformed HTTPS payload to PAN-OS management interface
Expected signal: PAN-OS threat logs should record an anomalous inbound connection; syslog may show a connection handling error or rate limit trigger on the management interface.
- Test 2Trigger PAN-OS management daemon crash simulation via process kill
Expected signal: PAN-OS system logs will record a process crash event for sslmgrd with signal 11 (SIGSEGV); watchdog restart will generate a subsequent SYSTEM log entry. Syslog forwarding will push these to the SIEM.
- Test 3Enumerate PAN-OS management interface exposure and version fingerprinting
Expected signal: PAN-OS management logs will record the inbound HTTPS requests from the test source IP. If threat prevention is enabled, reconnaissance-pattern requests may trigger a threat log entry.
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Get the full detection package for CVE-2026-0300 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.