{"id":"CVE-2022-23176","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2022-23176"],"related":[],"title":"WatchGuard Firebox and XTM: WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","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.","summary":"WatchGuard Firebox and XTM firewall appliances let a remote attacker with low-privileged credentials open a management session with elevated privileges. The attacker gets administrative control of the firewall, which sits at the network edge.","severity":"critical","cvss":9.0,"epss":0.10805,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2022-04-11T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"WatchGuard Firebox and XTM","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["exploited","firewall","infrastructure","self-hosted","watchguard"],"not_affected_if":["unknown"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":"Apply the vendor update per WatchGuard instructions; the sources do not name the fixed version.\nRestrict exposure of appliance management interfaces to trusted networks.","status":"open","published_at":"2022-02-24T15:15:28+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:18:02+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.6,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:18:02Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Apply the vendor update per WatchGuard instructions; the sources do not name the fixed version.\nRestrict exposure of appliance management interfaces to trusted networks.","reach":"internet","impact":"high","summary":"WatchGuard Firebox and XTM firewall appliances let a remote attacker with low-privileged credentials open a management session with elevated privileges. The attacker gets administrative control of the firewall, which sits at the network edge.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["watchguard","firewall","self-hosted"],"confidence":0.6,"needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"Attacker gains privileged management control of the firewall appliance","analyst_note":"Find the affected and fixed firmware versions and the exposed management interface details in the WatchGuard advisory and CISA KEV notes.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["unknown"],"user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000462,"input_tokens":2848,"output_tokens":354,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2022':13A,16A '-23176':14A,17A '12':98C '12.1.3':101C '12.2':104C '12.5':107C '12.5.7':110C '12.7.2':96C 'access':78C,89C 'administr':54B 'allow':70C 'and':20A 'applianc':34B,69C 'attack':38B,52B,73C 'control':55B 'credenti':43B,76C 'cve':12A,15A 'edg':64B 'elev':49B 'escal':10A 'exploit':22B 'expos':87C 'firebox':2A,6A,19A,30B,66C 'firewal':23B,33B,58B 'firewar':93C 'get':53B 'host':27B 'impact':92C 'infrastructur':24B 'let':35B 'low':41B 'low-privileg':40B 'manag':46B,84C,88C 'network':63B 'open':44B 'os':94C 'privileg':9A,42B,50B,83C 'remot':37B,72C 'self':26B 'self-host':25B 'session':47B,85C 'sit':60B 'system':80C 'u1':97C 'u3':102C,111C 'unprivileg':75C 'via':86C 'vulner':11A,91C 'watchguard':1A,5A,18A,28B,29B,65C 'x':99C,105C,108C 'xtm':4A,8A,21A,32B,68C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2022-02-24T15:15:28+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-04-11","dueDate":"2022-05-02","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"nvd@nist.gov","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2022-23176","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2022-23176","severity":null,"published_at":"2022-04-11T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T17:39:57+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2022-23176","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2022-23176","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2022-23176","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23176","severity":null,"published_at":"2022-02-24T15:15:28+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T04:29:37+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}