CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-3042 — Paloaltonetworks Cortex Xdr Agent security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.8

A local privilege escalation (PE) 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. Exploiting this vulnerability requires the user to have file creation privilege in the Windows root directory (such as C:\). This issue impacts: All versions of Cortex XDR agent 6.1 without content update 181 or a later version; All versions of Cortex XDR agent 7.2 without content update 181 or a later version; All versions of Cortex XDR agent 7.3 without content update 181 or a later version. Cortex XDR agent 5.0 versions are not impacted by this issue. Content updates are required to resolve this issue and are automatically applied for the agent.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Published
2021-07-15
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
windows/system
Weaknesses
CWE-427

Affected products

  • paloaltonetworks / cortex_xdr_agent / 6.1
  • paloaltonetworks / cortex_xdr_agent / 7.2
  • paloaltonetworks / cortex_xdr_agent / 7.3

Showing 3 representative product identities from 5 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Supply-chain, dependency, build, and update integrity

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace affected packages, source archives, build actions, plugins, installers, and updates from declared source to deployed artifact.
  • Confirm provenance, signatures or digests, namespace ownership, lockfile resolution, registry configuration, and build-runner trust boundaries.
  • Inventory direct, transitive, vendored, generated, and bundled copies across releases and distribution channels.

Remediate safely

  • Move to a maintained trusted artifact or remove the dependency; pin immutable identities and verify provenance and integrity before use.
  • Regenerate lockfiles and artifacts in a clean isolated build, minimize build credentials and network access, and produce an updated software bill of materials.
  • Require reviewed update policy, protected publishing, and reproducible or independently attestable builds where supported.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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