On WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances, an unauthenticated user can execute arbitrary code, aka FBX-22786.
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Now (action score 92/100)
- CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Mar 25, 2022). Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 15, 2022.
- A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 78.1% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 99.5% of all records.
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. No account or password is required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
Patch today or shut off access. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS
On WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances, an unauthenticated user can execute arbitrary code, aka FBX-22786. This vulnerability impacts Fireware OS before 12.7.2_U2, 12.x before 12.1.3_U8, and 12.2.x through 12.5.x before 12.5.9_U2.
- Published
- Mar 4, 2022
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 78.2% · 100th percentile
- CWE
- —
Report tools
Action score
92
Now
Patch today or shut off access.
- CVSS
- 39 / 40 · 9.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 23 / 30 · 78.2%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 25, 2022. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for government agencies: Apr 15, 2022.
Get told when this record changes
- In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
- Weaponized exploit exists
- No fixed version yet
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| watchguard | fireware | cpe:2.3:o:watchguard:fireware |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- watchguard fireware12.0.0 and later · before 12.1.3
- watchguard fireware12.5 and later · before 12.5.9
- watchguard fireware12.7.0 and later · before 12.7.2
- watchguard fireware12.1.3
- watchguard fireware12.5.9
- watchguard fireware12.7.2
Same product
watchguard: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2025-9242WatchGuard Firebox iked Out of Bounds Write VulnerabilityKEV95Now
- CVE-2025-14733WatchGuard Firebox iked Out of Bounds Write VulnerabilityKEV75This week
- CVE-2022-23176WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances allow a remote attacker with unprivileged credentials to access the system with a privileged managemenKEV68This week
- CVE-2013-6021Buffer overflow in WGagent in WatchGuard WSM and Fireware before 11.8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long sessionid41Plan
- CVE-2022-31789An integer overflow in WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to trigger a buffer overflow and pote40Plan
- CVE-2026-86131Fireware OS Code Injection in BOVPN Over TLS Client Allows Remote Code Execution36Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×1
- Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×4
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit module | exploit/linux/http/watchguard_firebox_unauth_rce_cve_2022_26318WatchGuard XTM Firebox Unauthenticated Remote Command Executionexploit | 2022-08-29 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:11 | 2022-03-28 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:2 | 2022-04-18 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:2 | 2022-05-21 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:0 | 2024-12-05 |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Published
- CISA KEV+20 d
- First PoC+23 d
- Metasploit+177 d
- TodayOct 15, 2026+1686 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
—
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
Show all references (1 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.