A security advisory published on Tuesday by Palo Alto Networks informs customers about the availability of patches for a critical vulnerability affecting the company’s Cortex XSOAR product.
During an internal security review, Palo Alto Networks discovered that its Cortex XSOAR security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) platform is affected by an improper authorization issue.
The flaw, tracked as CVE-2021-3044 and rated critical severity with a CVSS score of 9.8, can be exploited by a remote, unauthenticated attacker with network access to the Cortex XSOAR server to perform unauthorized actions through the REST API.
“This issue is not a remote code execution vulnerability. This issue enables an unauthorized attacker to perform actions on behalf of an active Cortex XSOAR integration, which includes running commands and automations in the Cortex XSOAR War Room,” Palo Alto Networks explained in its advisory.
The security hole affects XSOAR versions 6.1.0 and 6.2.0 on configurations with active API key integrations. Patches have been made available for both impacted versions. As for mitigations, the vendor recommends revoking all active integration API keys and restricting network access to the XSOAR server.
The company says it’s not aware of any attacks exploiting this vulnerability, but it has shared some information on how customers can find signs of exploitation.
Related: Palo Alto Networks Patches Serious DoS, Code Execution Flaws in PAN-OS
Related: Palo Alto Networks Patches Many Vulnerabilities in PAN-OS
Related: US Cyber Command: Foreign APTs Likely to Exploit New Palo Alto Networks Flaw
Related: Palo Alto Networks Patches Command Injection Vulnerabilities in PAN-OS

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.
More from Eduard Kovacs
- High-Severity Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Patched in VMware Workstation
- GoAnywhere MFT Users Warned of Zero-Day Exploit
- UK Car Retailer Arnold Clark Hit by Ransomware
- EV Charging Management System Vulnerabilities Allow Disruption, Energy Theft
- Unpatched Econolite Traffic Controller Vulnerabilities Allow Remote Hacking
- Google Fi Data Breach Reportedly Led to SIM Swapping
- Microsoft’s Verified Publisher Status Abused in Email Theft Campaign
- British Retailer JD Sports Discloses Data Breach Affecting 10 Million Customers
Latest News
- Big China Spy Balloon Moving East Over US, Pentagon Says
- Former Ubiquiti Employee Who Posed as Hacker Pleads Guilty
- Cyber Insights 2023: Venture Capital
- Atlassian Warns of Critical Jira Service Management Vulnerability
- High-Severity Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Patched in VMware Workstation
- Exploitation of Oracle E-Business Suite Vulnerability Starts After PoC Publication
- China Says It’s Looking Into Report of Spy Balloon Over US
- GoAnywhere MFT Users Warned of Zero-Day Exploit
