# CVE-2023-3280: Cortex XDR Agent: Local Windows User Can Disable the Agent

> A local Windows user can bypass protection mechanisms to disable the Cortex XDR agent, compromising endpoint security.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Sep 2023
- **Updated:** 25 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6677-fgc8-98h4

## What is CVE-2023-3280?

CVE-2023-3280 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent, published on 13 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows devices allows a local user to disable the agent.

Weakness: CWE-755 (Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-3280?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Paloaltonetworks Cortex Xdr Agent.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-3280?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-3280 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-3280 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3280 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Blocking Windows EDR agents by registering an own IPC-object in the Object Manager’s namespace (CVE-2023-3280, CVE-2024-5909, CVE-2024-20671) (github_poc): https://github.com/ig-labs/EDR-ALPC-Block-POC

## Other vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent

- [CVE-2022-0015](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0015/): Cortex XDR Agent: An Uncontrolled Search Path Element Leads to Local Privilege Escalation (PE) Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-3042](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3042/): Cortex XDR Agent: Improper Control of User-Controlled File Leads to Local Privilege Escalation (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-3041](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3041/): Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of user-controlled file leads to local privilege escalation (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-2049](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-2049/): Cortex XDR Agent: Improper control of loaded DLL leads to local privilege escalation (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2024-5909](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-5909/): Cortex XDR Agent: Local Windows User Can Disable the Agent (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-3280 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-3280 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent, published on 13 Sep 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3280 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3280/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3280/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3280
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3280
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-3280

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3280/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.