CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-0294NVD status: Analyzed

Prisma Access Agent: Uncontrolled Search Path Element

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-0294 is a high-severity uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in Prisma Access Agent from Palo Alto Networks, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 26.3 as the first without the flaw, so updating Prisma Access Agent to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.17% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Prisma Access Agent to 26.3 or a later version.
  2. Read the advisory on security.paloaltonetworks.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Palo Alto NetworksPrisma Access Agentbefore 26.326.3

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.06.0MediumCNA (paloaltonetworks.com)
CVSS 3.17.8HighNVD

Official description

A privilege escalation (PE) vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks Prisma® Access Agent app on Windows and macOS devices enables a local user to execute code with elevated privileges. The Prisma Access Agent on Linux, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS is not affected.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Uncontrolled Search Path Element

The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
  • When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames. The portability can be improved by locating the full-qualified paths in a centralized, easily-modifiable location within the source code, and having the code refer to these paths.
  • Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.

More Uncontrolled Search Path Element vulnerabilities (CWE-427)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in Prisma Access Agent

All Prisma Access Agent vulnerabilities

Recent Uncontrolled Search Path Element vulnerabilities

Spotted an error? Tell us.