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CVE-2020-2020· NVD / CVE Program· CNA palo_alto

Cortex XDR Agent: Exceptional condition denial-of-service (DoS)

An improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability in Cortex XDR Agent allows a local authenticated Windows user to create files in the software's internal program directory that prevents the Cortex XDR Agent from starting. The exceptional condition is persistent and prevents Cortex XDR Agent from starting when the software or machine is restarted. This issue impacts: Cortex XDR Agent 5.0 versions earlier than 5.0.10; Cortex XDR Agent 6.1 versions earlier than 6.1.7; Cortex XDR Agent 7.0 versions earlier than 7.0.3; Cortex XDR Agent 7.1 versions earlier than 7.1.2.

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Dec 9, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.3% · 21th percentile
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Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.3%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · palo_alto
5.5
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Affected systems

VendorProduct
paloaltonetworkscortex xdr agent

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent5.0 and later · before 5.0.10
  • paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent6.1 and later · before 6.1.7
  • paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent7.0 and later · before 7.0.3
  • paloaltonetworks cortex xdr agent7.1 and later · before 7.1.2

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

    • 7.0 and later · before 7.0.3affectedfixed in 7.0.3
    • 7.1 and later · before 7.1.2affectedfixed in 7.1.2
    • 5.0 and later · before 5.0.10affectedfixed in 5.0.10
    • 6.1 and later · before 6.1.7affectedfixed in 6.1.7
    • 7.2.0 and later · before 7.2*not affected

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2023-0002Cortex XDR Agent: Product Disruption by Local Windows User
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2022-0015Cortex XDR Agent: An Uncontrolled Search Path Element Leads to Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2021-3042Cortex XDR Agent: Improper Control of User-Controlled File Leads to Local Privilege Escalation
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2021-3041Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of user-controlled file leads to local privilege escalation
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2020-2049Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of loaded DLL leads to local privilege escalation
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2022-0014Cortex XDR Agent: Unintended Program Execution When Using Live Terminal Session
    29Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent5.0.10Vendor (CNA)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent6.1.7Vendor (CNA)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent7.0.3Vendor (CNA)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent7.1.2Vendor (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.

EPSS, last 120 days

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.

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

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.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

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 help

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

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