Cortex XDR Agent: Local Administrator can disable the agent on Windows
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a local Windows administrator to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to perform malicious activity without detection.
- Published
- Apr 13, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 7, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.1% · 3th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-15
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Report tools
Action score
16
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 16 / 40 · 4.0 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.1%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · palo_alto
- 4.0
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| paloaltonetworks | cortex xdr agent | cpe:2.3:a:paloaltonetworks:cortex_xdr_agent |
| microsoft | windows | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent8.7.0 and later · before 8.7.101
- paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent7.9
- paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent8.3
- paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent8.9.0
- paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent9.0.0
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (palo_alto). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent
- 9.0, 8.9, 8.7-CEnot affected
- 9.1.0 and later · before 5.10.14not affectedfixed in 5.10.14
- 9.0 and later · before 9.0.1affectedfixed in 9.0.1
- 8.9 and later · before 8.9.1affectedfixed in 8.9.1
- 8.7-CE and later · before 8.7.101-CEaffectedfixed in 8.7.101-CE
- 8.3-CE and later · before 8.3-CE-CU-2120affectedfixed in 8.3-CE
- 7.9-CE and later · before 7.9-CE-CU-2120affectedfixed in 7.9-CE
Same product
paloaltonetworks: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2023-0002Cortex XDR Agent: Product Disruption by Local Windows User31Monitor
- CVE-2022-0015Cortex XDR Agent: An Uncontrolled Search Path Element Leads to Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability31Monitor
- CVE-2021-3042Cortex XDR Agent: Improper Control of User-Controlled File Leads to Local Privilege Escalation31Monitor
- CVE-2021-3041Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of user-controlled file leads to local privilege escalation31Monitor
- CVE-2020-2049Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of loaded DLL leads to local privilege escalation31Monitor
- CVE-2022-0014Cortex XDR Agent: Unintended Program Execution When Using Live Terminal Session29Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent | 7.9-CE | Vendor (CNA) |
| Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent | 8.3-CE | Vendor (CNA) |
| Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent | 8.7.101-CE | Vendor (CNA) |
| Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent | 8.9.1 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent | 9.0.1 | Vendor (CNA) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
- WhatThe0xDoinfinder
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- Administrator privileges are required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-15 · External Control of System or Configuration SettingCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- Subverting Environment Variable ValuesCAPEC-13likelihood: High · Very High
- XML Schema PoisoningCAPEC-146likelihood: Low · High
- Configuration/Environment ManipulationCAPEC-176Medium
- Manipulate Registry InformationCAPEC-203Medium
- Modification of Registry Run KeysCAPEC-270likelihood: Medium · Medium
- Schema PoisoningCAPEC-271likelihood: Low · High
- Replace Winlogon Helper DLLCAPEC-579
- Target Programs with Elevated PrivilegesCAPEC-69likelihood: High · Very High
ATT&CK techniques
- Modify RegistryT1112
- Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Registry Run Keys / Start FolderT1547.001
- Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: Winlogon helper DLLT1547.004
- Boot or Logon Autostart Execution: ActiveT1547.014
- Impair Defenses:Impair Command History LoggingT1562.003
- Hijack Execution Flow:Dynamic Linker HijackingT1574.006
- Hijack Execution Flow:Path Interception by PATH Environment VariableT1574.007
- Plist ModificationT1647
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
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References
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.