dbcve.org
NULL Pointer DereferenceWeakness · CWE-476

CVE-2025-0121

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v4.0 Published 2025-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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 null pointer dereference vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex® XDR agent on Windows devices allows a low-privileged local Windows user to crash the agent. Additionally, malware can use this vulnerability to perform malicious activity without Cortex XDR being able to detect it.

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 null pointer dereference vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a low-privileged local Windows user to crash the agent. This can be exploited by malware to perform malicious activity while evading detection by the security agent.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Palo Alto Networks to update the Cortex XDR agent on all affected Windows devices. Prioritize patching systems with sensitive data or high exposure.

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

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
Authentication
None
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:N/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber

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 > Apps & features, or run 'Get-Package -ProviderName Programs -IncludeAvailableProgram' in PowerShell to list installed software. Look for entries named 'Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR' or 'Cortex XDR agent'.
    Affected if The software is not present on the system, the user is not affected by this CVE.
  2. Identify the installed Cortex XDR version
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, right-click on the Cortex XDR entry and select 'Properties', or use PowerShell: 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Cortex*"} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion'. Note the version number.
    Affected if The installed version matches any version range provided by Palo Alto Networks for this CVE; compare your version against official vendor advisory.
  3. Verify the Cortex XDR agent service is running
    Open Services console (services.msc) and locate 'Cortex XDR' service, or run 'Get-Service -Name "*Cortex*"' in PowerShell. Check if the service status shows 'Running'.
    Affected if The service is running and the version is vulnerable; a crashed agent may also appear as stopped or disabled.
  4. Confirm Windows platform
    This vulnerability specifically affects the Windows version of Cortex XDR. Run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name"' in Command Prompt to confirm the operating system.
    Affected if The system is running Windows with a vulnerable version of Cortex XDR installed and running.

The environment is affected if Cortex XDR agent for Windows is installed, the agent service is running, and the installed version falls within the vulnerable version range specified in the Palo Alto Networks security advisory for CVE-2025-0121.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Palo Alto Networks to update the Cortex XDR agent on all affected Windows devices. Prioritize patching systems with sensitive data or high exposure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Obtain the specific fixed release version from the Palo Alto Networks security advisory (CVE-2025-0121)

  1. 1. Navigate to the Palo Alto Networks Customer Support Portal at https://support.paloaltonetworks.com/
  2. 2. Search for security advisory CVE-2025-0121 or "Cortex XDR agent null pointer dereference"
  3. 3. Identify the specific Cortex XDR agent for Windows version currently installed by checking the agent properties or using the Cortex XDR console
  4. 4. Download and apply the hotfix or updated agent version specified in the security advisory
  5. 5. Verify the agent is running properly after the update by checking the Cortex XDR console or system services
Caveat Review the release notes for any compatibility considerations or changes to agent behavior before deploying

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2025-0121 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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