CVE-2024-5909: Cortex XDR Agent: Local Windows User Can Disable the Agent

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-06-12 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-269

Description

A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows devices allows a low privileged local Windows user to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to disable the Cortex XDR agent and then to perform malicious activity.

Affected products

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent: from 7.9 before 7.9.102; from 8.1 before 8.1.2; from 8.2 before 8.2.1 — fixed in 7.9.102, 8.1.2, 8.2.1
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent: from 8.2.0 before 8.2.1; from 8.1.0 before 8.1.2; from 7.9-CE before 7.9.102-CE — fixed in 8.2.1, 8.1.2, 7.9.102-CE

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 7.9.102, 8.1.2, 8.2.1; Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 8.2.1, 8.1.2, 7.9.102-CE. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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