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Full vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-0232High confidence

Cortex XDR Agent: Local Administrator can disable the agent on Windows

Palo Alto Networks · Cortex XDR Agent

4.0MediumCVSS 4.0
Recommended action
Scheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Patch available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityMediumOperational priority:Low, lowered one band.downgradedsince 13 Apr 2026

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.15% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: No default targetRemediation target: Normal maintenance

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2026-21895

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

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.

What

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.

Why

One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

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.

Why

One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → External Control of System or Configuration Setting → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Not a CVSS 4.0 base metric
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-15 ↗

CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting. One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 4.0: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.ATNoneAttack requirements: No additional deployment or execution condition is required.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.VCNoneVulnerable-system confidentiality: No direct loss is represented by this metric.VINoneVulnerable-system integrity: No direct loss is represented by this metric.VAHighVulnerable-system availability: A successful attack can cause a major loss.SCNoneSubsequent-system confidentiality: No direct loss is represented by this metric.SINoneSubsequent-system integrity: No direct loss is represented by this metric.SANoneSubsequent-system availability: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
CWE-15
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

BSI · German · WID-SEC-2026-1019Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Umgehen von Sicherheitsvorkehrungen

Ein lokaler Angreifer kann eine Schwachstelle in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent ausnutzen, um den Agenten zu deaktivieren, wodurch die Schutzmechanismen des Endgeräts effektiv umgangen werden und weitere böswillige Aktivitäten unbemerkt ausgeführt werden können.

Official advisory ↗
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security · English · AV26-331Palo Alto Networks security advisory (AV26-331)

On April 8, 2026, Palo Alto Networks published security advisories to address vulnerabilities in the following products:

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20260415Security Bulletin 15 April 2026

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 15 April 2026, published on 15 April 2026. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2026-AVI-0412Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Palo Alto Networks

incidents Flux RSS des avis Flux RSS des indicateurs de compromission Flux RSS des durcissement et recommandations Flux RSS des bulletins d'actualité Premier Ministre S.G.D.S.N Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information Paris, le 09 avril 2026 N° CERTFR-2026-AVI-0412 Affaire suivie par: CERT-FR Avis du CERT-FR Objet: Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Palo Alto Networks Gestion du document Référence CERTFR-2026-AVI-0412 Titre Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Palo Alto Networks Date de la première version 09 avril 2026 Date de la dernière version 09 avril 2026 Source(s) Bulletin de sécurité Palo Alto Networks CVE-2026-0232 du 08 avril 2026 Bulletin de sécurité Palo Alto Networks CVE-2026-0233 du 08 avril 2026 Bulletin de sécurité Palo Alto Networks CVE-2026-0234 du 08 avril 2026 Bulletin de sécurité Palo Alto Networks PAN-SA-2026-0004 du 08 avril 2026 Une gestion de version détaillée se trouve à la fin de ce document. Risques Atteinte à l'intégrité des données Atteinte à la confidentialité des données Contournement de la politique de sécurité Exécution de code arbitraire à distance Non spécifié par l'éditeur Systèmes affectés Autonomous Digital Experience Manager pour Windows versions 5.10.x antérieures à 5.10.4 Cortex XDR Agent versions 8.9.x antérieures à 8.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2026-022731Palo Alto NetworksのCortex XDR agentにおけるシステム構成または設定の外部制御に関する脆弱性

Windows上のPalo Alto Networks Cortex XDRエージェントの保護機構に問題があり、ローカルのWindows管理者がエージェントを無効化できる可能性があります。この問題は、マルウェアが検出されることなく悪意のある活動を実行するために悪用される恐れがあるものです。

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
Cortex XDR Agent: 9.0 < 9.0.1, 8.9 < 8.9.1, 8.7-CE < 8.7.101-CE, 8.3-CE < 8.3-CE-CU-2120, 7.9-CE < 7.9-CE-CU-2120
Fixed
Cortex XDR Agent: 9.1.0 < 5.10.14, 9.0, 8.9, 8.7-CE
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 13 Apr 2026 · Last source change 13 Apr 2026, 13:27 UTC · CWE-15 · External Control of System or Configuration Setting

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-21895
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-21895↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2026-0232 · cve.blacktree.nl