CVE-2021-3042 Cortex XDR Agent: Improper Control of User-Controlled File Leads to Local Privilege Escalation
Local authenticated users can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by exploiting improper file control in the Cortex XDR agent on Windows.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2021-3042?
CVE-2021-3042 is a high-severity vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent, published on 15 Jul 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
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.
Weakness: CWE-427
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3042?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Paloaltonetworks Cortex Xdr Agent.
How do I fix CVE-2021-3042?
No fix has been published for CVE-2021-3042 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2021-3042 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3042 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent
- CVE-2022-0015 Cortex XDR Agent: An Uncontrolled Search Path Element Leads to Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-3041 Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of user-controlled file leads to local privilege escalation
- CVE-2020-2049 Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of loaded DLL leads to local privilege escalation
- CVE-2024-5909 Cortex XDR Agent: Local Windows User Can Disable the Agent
- CVE-2022-0025 Cortex XDR Agent: An Uncontrolled Search Path Element Leads to Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability
Sources
Also known as GHSA-6cmh-xrj8-pmc5.