dbcve.org
Cortex Xdr AgentApplication · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2021-3041

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.11 / 6.1.8 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows platforms that enables an authenticated local Windows user to execute programs with SYSTEM privileges. This requires the user to have the privilege to create files in the Windows root directory or to manipulate key registry values. This issue impacts: Cortex XDR agent 5.0 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 5.0.11; Cortex XDR agent 6.1 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 6.1.8; Cortex XDR agent 7.2 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 7.2.3; All versions of Cortex XDR agent 7.2 without content update release 171 or a later version.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent for Windows allows an authenticated local user with file creation in the Windows root directory or registry manipulation privileges to execute programs with SYSTEM privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Cortex XDR agent to version 5.0.11, 6.1.8, or 7.2.3 or later, or apply content update release 171 or later for version 7.2.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Cortex Xdr AgentApplication
Affected:>= 5.0, < 5.0.11>= 6.1, < 6.1.8>= 7.2, < 7.2.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Cortex XDR agent is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps & Features, or run 'Get-Package -Name *Cortex*' in PowerShell, or check Program Files for Palo Alto Networks folder
    Affected if Cortex XDR agent is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Right-click the Cortex XDR agent in the system tray and select 'About', or check the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\PaloAltoNetworks\Cortex\XDR\Version, or run 'cytool.exe version' if available in the installation directory
    Affected if The version shown is 5.0.x below 5.0.11, 6.1.x below 6.1.8, or 7.2.x below 7.2.3
  3. Verify the Cortex XDR service runs with elevated privileges
    Open Services console (services.msc), locate the Cortex XDR service, right-click and select Properties, check the 'Log on as' account
    Affected if The service runs as SYSTEM or another privileged account (this is required for the privilege escalation to occur)
  4. Check if untrusted users have file creation access in the Windows root directory
    Open File Explorer, right-click on C:\ drive, go to Security tab, check permissions for Users or non-admin groups. Alternatively, run 'icacls C:\' in Command Prompt and review output for '(CI)(IO) CreateFiles' or similar write permissions
    Affected if Authenticated users or low-privileged accounts have CreateFiles permission on C:\ or root directory
  5. Check for registry write permissions in sensitive registry paths
    Open Registry Editor (regedit), right-click on HKLM\SOFTWARE\PaloAltoNetworks or similar paths, select Permissions, check if Users or non-admin groups have Write access. Alternatively, use 'accesschk.exe -kvw HKLM\SOFTWARE' or reg query with permissions check
    Affected if Non-admin users have Write permission to Palo Alto Networks registry keys or system registry hives

A user is affected if Cortex XDR agent is installed with a version in the ranges 5.0.x < 5.0.11, 6.1.x < 6.1.8, or 7.2.x < 7.2.3 AND the service runs with SYSTEM privileges while untrusted users have either file creation in the Windows root directory or registry write access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.0.11 / 6.1.8 / 7.2.3 or later
Fixed in 5.0.116.1.87.2.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Cortex XDR agent to version 5.0.11, 6.1.8, or 7.2.3 or later, or apply content update release 171 or later for version 7.2.

Fix this in Cortex Xdr Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-3041 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-3041 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data