Local escalation to root or SYSTEM
Published May 13, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026
Privilege escalation in Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access Agent before 26.2.1 allows local users to execute code as root or SYSTEM. Palo Alto Networks has not published the affected privilege-management component or the missing authorization check that permits the escalation. A locally authenticated non-administrative account and no special configuration are required; successful exploitation exposes privileged data and grants arbitrary code execution.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access Agent before 26.2.1 allows local users to execute code as root or SYSTEM. Palo Alto Networks has not published the affected privilege-management component or the missing authorization check that permits the escalation. A locally authenticated non-administrative account and no special configuration are required; successful exploitation exposes privileged data and grants arbitrary code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-0246
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Updated
- May 13, 2026
- Vendor
- Palo Alto Networks
- Product
- Prisma Access Agent
- Classifications
- CWE-862, CAPEC-233, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <26.2.1 changes=[{"at":"26.2.1","status":"unaffected"}]
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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