Privilege escalation in Cortex XDR Agent

1) Insecure DLL loading

EUVDB-ID: #VU53997

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 6.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2021-3041

CWE-ID: CWE-427 - Uncontrolled Search Path Element

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to the application loads DLL libraries in an insecure manner. A local user with privileges to create files in the Windows root directory or to manipulate key registry values and execute arbitrary code on the system with SYSTEM privileges.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Cortex XDR Agent for Windows: 5.0.0 - 7.2.2

External links

http://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2021-3041

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.