When a Cortex XDR agent encounters an unknown Portable Executable (PE) or DLL, it can automatically upload the sample to Palo Alto Networks WildFire in the cloud for deep sandboxing and dynamic analysis.
If a specific executable must be prevented from being uploaded to the cloud (for instance, to protect highly confidential corporate proprietary software, proprietary source code compilations, or data privacy requirements), you must configure an Exclusion Rule:
How it works: Under Endpoints > Policy Management > Prevention > Profiles > Malware Profile, you can add a file or path exclusion specifically targeted at WildFire Analysis. By selecting the specific executable or directory and checking the exclusion box for cloud upload/analysis, the local agent will bypass uploading that sample while still enforcing local static analysis protections.