CVE-2024-9472: A null pointer dereference in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software on PA-800 Series, PA-3200 Series, PA-5200 Series, and PA-7000 Series hardware platforms when De

A null pointer dereference in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software on PA-800 Series, PA-3200 Series, PA-5200 Series, and PA-7000 Series hardware platforms when De

A null pointer dereference in Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software on PA-800 Series, PA-3200 Series, PA-5200 Series, and PA-7000 Series hardware platforms when Decryption policy is enabled allows an unauthenticated attacker to crash PAN-OS by sending specific traffic through the data plane, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. Repeated attempts to trigger this condition will result in PAN-OS entering maintenance mode. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, Cloud NGFW, and Prisma Access are not affected. This issue only affects PA-800 Series, PA-3200 Series, PA-5200 Series, and PA-7000 Series running these specific versions of PAN-OS: * 10.2.7-h12 * 10.2.8-h10 * 10.2.9-h9 * 10.2.9-h11 * 10.2.10-h2 * 10.2.10-h3 * 10.2.11 * 10.2.11-h1 * 10.2.11-h2 * 10.2.11-h3 * 11.1.2-h9 * 11.1.2-h12 * 11.1.3-h2 * 11.1.3-h4 * 11.1.3-h6 * 11.2.2 * 11.2.2-h1

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by psirt@paloaltonetworks.com

What it means for a small business

Cloud NGFW is network equipment or remote-access software: the box between your office and the internet. These are a favorite target because breaking one opens the whole office.

If an IT provider set it up, ask them to confirm the firmware version and the date it was updated. If nobody looks after it, that's the bigger problem.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.43%, higher than 36% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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