CVE-2026-0232
Cortex XDR Agent: Local Administrator can disable the agent on Windows
Description
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.
Weakness: CWE-15
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Category | Matched by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Networks | Cortex XDR | Endpoint / EDR | cna-assigner |
Vendor-reported affected versions (2)
- Palo Alto Networks · Cortex XDR Agent
- Palo Alto Networks · Cortex XDR Agent
Credit
WhatThe0xDoin
Vendor remediation
To fully remediate this vulnerability, customers must ensure their Content Update is at version 2120 or higher. This update provides the necessary protection across all supported versions of Cortex XDR. While the Content Update provides the primary fix, the following software releases include complementary architectural enhancements to further harden the environment: * Cortex XDR 9.1.0 (or later) * Cortex XDR 9.0.1 (or later) * Cortex XDR 8.9.1 (or later) * Cortex XDR 8.7.101-CE (or later) Note for 8.3-CE and 7.9-CE: These versions are fully protected by applying Content Update 2120. No additional software upgrade is required for these versions to mitigate this specific vulnerability.