7.8
HIGH
CVE-2021-3042
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
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.

INFO

Published Date :

July 15, 2021, 5:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Nov. 21, 2024, 6:20 a.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

No

Impact Score :

5.9

Exploitability Score :

1.8
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2021-3042 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Paloaltonetworks cortex_xdr_agent
1 Microsoft windows
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools

Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to CVE-2021-3042.

URL Resource
https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2021-3042 Vendor Advisory
https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2021-3042 Vendor Advisory

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2021-3042 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2021-3042 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108

    Nov. 21, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added Reference https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2021-3042
  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Jul. 27, 2021

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V2 NIST (AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C)
    Changed Reference Type https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2021-3042 No Types Assigned https://security.paloaltonetworks.com/CVE-2021-3042 Vendor Advisory
    Added CWE NIST CWE-427
    Added CPE Configuration AND OR *cpe:2.3:a:paloaltonetworks:cortex_xdr_agent:6.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:paloaltonetworks:cortex_xdr_agent:7.2:-:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:paloaltonetworks:cortex_xdr_agent:7.2:content_update149:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:paloaltonetworks:cortex_xdr_agent:7.2:content_update150:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:a:paloaltonetworks:cortex_xdr_agent:7.3:-:*:*:*:*:*:* OR cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2021-3042 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2021-3042 weaknesses.

Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

0.04 }} 0.00%

score

0.05635

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
Attack Vector
Attack Complexity
Privileges Required
User Interaction
Scope
Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability