CVE-2023-3280

MEDIUM

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 5.0-5.0.12.22203 7.9.0-7.9.3 7.9.0-7.9.101 - Local Protection Mechanism Bypass

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2023-3280. PoCs published by ig-labs.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This PoC demonstrates a denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in Windows EDR agents by registering an ALPC port before the EDR initializes, causing the EDR's user-mode components to crash. The exploit requires a system reboot and low-privileged user access to execute.

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.

Exploits (1)

nomisec WORKING POC 33 stars
by ig-labs · poc
https://github.com/ig-labs/EDR-ALPC-Block-POC

This PoC demonstrates a denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in Windows EDR agents by registering an ALPC port before the EDR initializes, causing the EDR's user-mode components to crash. The exploit requires a system reboot and low-privileged user access to execute.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Windows EDR agents (e.g., Palo Alto Networks Cortex)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Low-privileged user access · System reboot · Early startup execution (e.g., scheduled task)
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (1)

Core 1
Core References

Scores

CVSS v3 5.5
EPSS 0.0031
EPSS Percentile 21.9%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation none
Automatable no
Technical Impact partial

Details

CWE
CWE-755
Status published
Products (4)
paloaltonetworks/cortex_xdr_agent 7.5.102
paloaltonetworks/cortex_xdr_agent 5.0 - 5.0.12.22203
paloaltonetworks/cortex_xdr_agent 7.9.0 - 7.9.101
paloaltonetworks/cortex_xdr_agent 7.9.0 - 7.9.3
Published Sep 13, 2023
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026