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Cortex Xdr AgentApplication · Paloaltonetworks

CVE-2022-0025

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.7.1.62043 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 (PE) vulnerability exists in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent software on Windows that enables an authenticated local user with file creation privilege in the Windows root directory (such as C:\) to execute a program with elevated privileges. This issue impacts: All versions of the Cortex XDR agent when upgrading to Cortex XDR agent 7.7.0 on Windows; Cortex XDR agent 7.7.0 without content update 500 or a later version on Windows. This issue does not impact other platforms or other versions of the Cortex XDR agent.

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 7.7.0 on Windows allows an authenticated local user with file creation permissions in C:\ to execute arbitrary code with elevated SYSTEM privileges. The vulnerability exists during the upgrade process to 7.7.0 or when running 7.7.0 without content update 500 or later.

MitigationApply Cortex XDR content update 500 or later, or upgrade to a version newer than 7.7.0 to remediate this vulnerability.

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:>= 7.7.0, < 7.7.1.62043

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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
    Check for Cortex XDR agent in Windows Add/Remove Programs, or look for the installation directory under Program Files (typically C:\Program Files\Palo Alto Networks\Cortex\XDR\)
    Affected if Cortex XDR agent is not installed on the system, then not affected
  2. Determine installed Cortex XDR agent version
    Open Windows Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\PaloAltoNetworks\Cortex\XDR\Install\Version or check the executable properties of the XDR agent binary in the installation directory
    Affected if Installed version is 7.7.0 through 7.7.1.62042 (greater than or equal to 7.7.0 but less than 7.7.1.62043)
  3. Check content update version
    Access the Cortex XDR agent console or management interface and navigate to the content/version information section to view the current content update number, or check the relevant configuration/log file that stores the content update metadata
    Affected if Content update is absent or is a version earlier than 500 (content update 500 or later mitigates the vulnerability)
  4. Verify user context conditions
    Identify if there are any local authenticated users on the system who have file creation permissions in the root of the C:\ drive, as this permission is required for successful exploitation
    Affected if Authenticated local users with file creation permissions in C:\ exist on the system and the agent version and content update conditions are both met

The system is affected if Cortex XDR agent version 7.7.0 through 7.7.1.62042 is installed AND content update 500 or later is not applied, combined with presence of local users who can create files in C:\.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.7.1.62043 or later
Fixed in 7.7.1.62043
Interim mitigation

Apply Cortex XDR content update 500 or later, or upgrade to a version newer than 7.7.0 to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cortex XDR agent 7.7.1.62043 or later

  1. Verify current Cortex XDR agent version by checking the installed software or using the agent's management console
  2. Ensure you have a backup of current agent configuration
  3. Upgrade the Cortex XDR agent to version 7.7.1.62043 or later
  4. After upgrade, verify the agent is running correctly and connected to the management console
  5. Apply content update 500 or later if not automatically included in the upgrade
Caveat Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to ensure compatibility with existing security policies and integrations

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2022-0025 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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