What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities
CVE-2022-23176: WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
- Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
- Exploited in the wild: yes — in CISA KEV since 2022-04-11
- EPSS: 10.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
- Public exploit or detection template: none known
- Published: 2022-02-24 · updated 2026-06-17
Description
WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances allow a remote attacker with unprivileged credentials to access the system with a privileged management session via exposed management access. This vulnerability impacts Fireware OS before 12.7.2_U1, 12.x before 12.1.3_U3, and 12.2.x through 12.5.x before 12.5.7_U3.
Affected products
- WatchGuard Fireware OS: from 12.0.0 before 12.1.3; from 12.2.0 before 12.5.7; 12.1.3, 12.1.3-u1, 12.1.3-u2, 12.5.7, 12.5.7-u1, 12.5.7-u2 (+1) — fixed in 12.1.3, 12.5.7
How to fix
Upgrade to a fixed version: WatchGuard Fireware OS 12.1.3, 12.5.7. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.
References
- https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/04/watchguard-failed-to-disclose-critical-flaw-exploited-by-russian-hackers/
- https://securityportal.watchguard.com
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_1_3_U7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7_2/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html
- https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/04/watchguard-failed-to-disclose-critical-flaw-exploited-by-russian-hackers/
- https://securityportal.watchguard.com
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_1_3_U7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7_2/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-23176
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