WatchGuard · Firebox and XTM
CVE-2022-23176
WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
What it is
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.
CISA: 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.
What to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Deadline for US federal agencies: May 2, 2022
- Added to the CISA list
- April 11, 2022
- Published
- February 24, 2022
- Severity
- High 8.8 CVSS 3.1
- Chance of attacks in the next 30 days (EPSS)
- 11% in the top 4.2% of all known vulnerabilities
- More details
- NVD · CVE.org · CISA
All references (5)
- https://securityportal.watchguard.com
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7/index.html#F…
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7_2/index.html…
- https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_1_3_U7/index.h…
- https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/04/watchguard-failed-to-disclose-critical-flaw-exploited-…
More exploited flaws from WatchGuard
| Added | Vulnerability | Product | Severity | Attack chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 19, 2025 | Out of Bounds Write | Firebox | Critical 9.3 | 29% |
| Nov 12, 2025 | Out-of-Bounds Write | Firebox | Critical 9.3 | 92% |
| Mar 25, 2022 | Arbitrary Code Execution | Firebox and XTM Appliances | Critical 9.8 | 78% |
Sources: Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA, public domain), CVE records (cve.org) and EPSS (FIRST). The chance of attacks is the EPSS estimate that someone will try to exploit the flaw in the next 30 days.