Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows
CVE-2021-3042
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.
EPSS: 0.002 (16.2th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows
- Palo Alto Networks Cortex Xdr Agent — versions 5.0 all, 6.1.* without content update 181 or later, 6.1.* with content update 181 or later
- Paloaltonetworks Cortex_xdr_agent — versions 6.1, 7.2, 7.3
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- psirt@paloaltonetworks.com (x_refsource_MISC, Vendor Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2021-3042?
- CVE-2021-3042 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Uncontrolled Search Path Element. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-07-15.
- How severe is CVE-2021-3042?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.