CVE-2026-0232
Cortex XDR Agent: Local Administrator can disable the agent on Windows
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a local Windows administrator to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to perform malicious activity without detection.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Cortex XDR Agent: Local Administrator can disable the agent on Windows
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a local Windows administrator to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to perform malicious activity without detection.
- Record
CVE-2026-0232- CVSS 4.0
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - Weakness
- CWE-15
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2026-21895
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a local Windows administrator to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to perform malicious activity without detection.
- Record
EUVD-2026-21895- CVSS 4.0
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-hvx7-jqjg-r7r7
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows...
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a local Windows administrator to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to perform malicious activity without detection.
- Record
GHSA-hvx7-jqjg-r7r7- CVSS 4.0
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-15
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A problem with a protection mechanism in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR agent on Windows allows a local Windows administrator to disable the agent. This issue may be leveraged by malware to perform malicious activity without detection.
- Record
CVE-2026-0232- CVSS 4.0
- 4.0 Medium
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:Y/R:U/V:D/RE:M/U:Amber - CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-15
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-0232 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.0) in Palo Alto Networks Cortex Xdr Agent, published April 13, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.15%, the 3rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.