CVE-2026-13079: WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Windows Client Local Privilege Escalation

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-07-03 · updated 2026-10-25
Weakness: CWE-732

Description

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL client for Windows allows a local attacker to escalate their privileges to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM on the machine where the client is installed. This issue affects the Mobile VPN with SSL client for Windows up to and including 2026.2.

Affected products

WatchGuard Fireware OS: from 12.0.0 before 12.12.1; from 2025.1 before 2026.2.1; from 12.5 through 12.5.18 — fixed in 12.12.1, 2026.2.1
WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Client: before 2026.2.1 — fixed in 2026.2.1

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: WatchGuard Fireware OS 12.12.1, 2026.2.1; WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Client 2026.2.1. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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