CVE-2026-0230

Agent disablement via undisclosed protection-mechanism failure

Published Mar 11, 2026 · Updated Mar 11, 2026

Protection-mechanism failure in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 8.3-CE and 8.7-CE on macOS allows local administrators to disable it. Palo Alto Networks has not disclosed the affected code locus or the exceptional condition that the protection mechanism handles incorrectly. High local privileges are required, but no special configuration is needed; disabling the agent lets malware operate without its detection.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Protection-mechanism failure in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR Agent 8.3-CE and 8.7-CE on macOS allows local administrators to disable it. Palo Alto Networks has not disclosed the affected code locus or the exceptional condition that the protection mechanism handles incorrectly. High local privileges are required, but no special configuration is needed; disabling the agent lets malware operate without its detection.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-0230
Published
Mar 11, 2026
Updated
Mar 11, 2026
Vendor
Palo Alto Networks
Product
Cortex XDR Agent
Classifications
CWE-754, CAPEC-578, T1562.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=8.3-CE <8.3.102-CE changes=[{"at":"8.3.102-CE","status":"unaffected"}]
  2. Affected versionversion=8.7-CE <8.7.101-CE changes=[{"at":"8.7.101-CE","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Palo Alto Networks · Cortex XDR Agentversion=8.3-CE <8.3.102-CE changes=[{"at":"8.3.102-CE","status":"unaffected"}]; version=8.7-CE <8.7.101-CE changes=[{"at":"8.7.101-CE","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

4.0Palo Alto NetworksCVSS: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
6.7Palo Alto NetworksCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-754Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions
CAPEC-578Disable Security Software
T1562.001Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo