Cortex Xdr AgentApplication · Paloaltonetworks
CVE-2022-0013
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 · uneditedA file information exposure vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent that enables a local attacker to read the contents of arbitrary files on the system with elevated privileges when generating a support file. This issue impacts: Cortex XDR agent 5.0 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 5.0.12; Cortex XDR agent 6.1 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 6.1.9; Cortex XDR agent 7.2 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 7.2.4; Cortex XDR agent 7.3 versions earlier than Cortex XDR agent 7.3.2.
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 confidenceA local file information exposure vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent allows a local attacker to read arbitrary file contents with elevated privileges when the support file generation feature is triggered. The vulnerability affects versions 5.0.x before 5.0.12, 6.1.x before 6.1.9, 7.2.x before 7.2.4, and 7.3.x before 7.3.2.
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
>= 5.0, < 5.0.12>= 6.1, < 6.1.9>= 7.2, < 7.2.4>= 7.3, < 7.3.2CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify Cortex XDR agent versionCheck the installed version of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on the endpoint. On Windows, this can typically be found in Add/Remove Programs, or via the agent's system tray icon, management console, or command-line tool provided with the agent (such as 'cytool info' or similar). On Linux, check via package manager or the agent's binary with version flag.Affected if The installed version falls within any of these vulnerable ranges: 5.0.x before 5.0.12, 6.1.x before 6.1.9, 7.2.x before 7.2.4, or 7.3.x before 7.3.2.
-
Confirm Cortex XDR agent is runningVerify that the Cortex XDR agent service or daemon is actively running on the system. Check process list or system services panel for the XDR agent process.Affected if The agent is installed and running on the system.
-
Verify support file generation feature contextReview system logs, agent logs, or audit records for any recent invocation of the support file generation feature. This feature is typically triggered manually by an administrator or automated process to generate diagnostic bundles. Check for log entries related to 'support', 'diagnostic', or 'bundle' generation.Affected if The support file generation feature has been triggered on the system.
-
Check file system permissionsExamine whether low-privilege users or processes could potentially trigger the support file generation feature, or whether any recent support file generation created files with overly permissive access controls.Affected if Non-admin users have access to trigger the support feature or can access generated support files.
You are affected if the Cortex XDR agent version is 5.0.x before 5.0.12, 6.1.x before 6.1.9, 7.2.x before 7.2.4, or 7.3.x before 7.3.2, and the support file generation feature has been or can be triggered on your system.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.0.126.1.97.2.4
Upgrade Cortex XDR agent to version 5.0.12, 6.1.9, 7.2.4, or 7.3.2 or later to resolve the arbitrary file read vulnerability.
Upgrade to Cortex XDR agent 5.0.12 (or later), 6.1.9 (or later), 7.2.4 (or later), or 7.3.2 (or later) depending on your current version branch
- 1. Identify the current version of Cortex XDR agent installed on each endpoint
- 2. Determine which version branch (5.0.x, 6.1.x, 7.2.x, or 7.3.x) is currently in use
- 3. Obtain the appropriate fixed version from Palo Alto Networks support portal or official download channels
- 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
- 5. Schedule a maintenance window for production deployment
- 6. Deploy the upgrade to all affected systems, upgrading to version 5.0.12 or later for 5.0.x, 6.1.9 or later for 6.1.x, 7.2.4 or later for 7.2.x, or 7.3.2 or later for 7.3.x
- 7. Verify the upgrade was successful and the version is correct
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Cortex Xdr Agent
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-0013 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-0013 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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