A local privilege escalation (PE) vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent that enables an authenticated local user to execute programs with elevated privileges. This issue impacts: Cortex XDR agent 5.0 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 5.0.12; Cortex XDR agent 6.1 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 6.1.9.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from paloaltonetworks organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2022, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2022-01-12T18:15:08.197
2024-11-21T06:37:49.263
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.8 (HIGH)
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
3.9
6.4
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | paloaltonetworks | cortex_xdr_agent | < 5.0.12 | Yes |
| Application | paloaltonetworks | cortex_xdr_agent | < 6.1.9 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For paloaltonetworks's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.