CVE-2023-0002: Cortex XDR Agent: Product Disruption by Local Windows User

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2023-02-08 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-693

Description

A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows devices allows a local user to execute privileged cytool commands that disable or uninstall the agent.

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent: from 5.0 before 5.0.12.22203; from 7.5 through 7.5.101 — fixed in 5.0.12.22203
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent: from 7.5 before 7.5.101-CE; from 5.0 before 5.0.12.22203 — fixed in 7.5.101-CE, 5.0.12.22203

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 5.0.12.22203; Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 7.5.101-CE, 5.0.12.22203. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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