CVE-2022-22278
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA vulnerability in SonicOS CFS (Content filtering service) returns a large 403 forbidden HTTP response message to the source address when users try to access prohibited resource this allows an attacker to cause HTTP Denial of Service (DoS) attack
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceA vulnerability in SonicOS Content Filtering Service (CFS) causes the system to return an abnormally large 403 Forbidden HTTP response when users attempt to access prohibited resources. Attackers can exploit this by repeatedly requesting blocked content, causing the large responses to consume excessive resources and trigger HTTP Denial of Service.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 7.0.1< 7.0.1< 7.0.1< 7.0.1< 7.0.1.0< 7.0.1.0< 7.0.1.0< 7.0.1.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify device model and firmware versionLog into the SonicWall management interface or use the CLI command 'show version' to determine the exact model number (e.g., TZ300, NSSA 11700) and current firmware version installedAffected if The device model matches one of the affected products (Tz300p, Tz300w, Tz350, Tz350w, Nssp 10700, 11700, 12400, 12800) AND the firmware version is below 7.0.1 (or 7.0.1.0 for NSSP models)
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Confirm Content Filtering Service is enabledNavigate to the SonicWall management UI under Security Services > Content Filter or use CLI to verify CFS is actively configured and blocking categoriesAffected if CFS is enabled and actively filtering web traffic - this is required for the vulnerability to be exploitable
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Check device network exposureReview firewall rules and network topology to determine if the WAN interface or untrusted networks can directly trigger CFS blocked content requestsAffected if The device can receive HTTP/HTTPS requests from untrusted networks that would trigger CFS blocked page responses - remote attackers need to request blocked content to exploit this
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Monitor for large 403 responsesIf accessible, inspect CFS logs or packet captures for unusually large 403 Forbidden responses - compare response sizes against normal CFS blocked page sizesAffected if The device is generating 403 responses significantly larger than typical CFS blocked pages, indicating the vulnerability may be present
You are affected if you have a matching device model running firmware below 7.0.1/7.0.1.0 AND have Content Filtering Service enabled with potential external trigger exposure.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped7.0.17.0.1.0
Apply available SonicWall patches for CVE-2022-22278 and consider implementing rate limiting or response size constraints on the CFS 403 responses as a compensating control until the patch is applied.
Firmware version 7.0.1 (Tz300p, Tz300w, Tz350, Tz350w) or 7.0.1.0 (Nssp 10700, 11700, 12400, 12800)
- Identify the specific model of your SonicWall device (Tz300p, Tz300w, Tz350, Tz350w, Nssp 10700, Nssp 11700, Nssp 12400, or Nssp 12800)
- Navigate to the SonicWall support portal at psirt.global.sonicwall.com or my.sonicwall.com
- Locate the firmware download section for your specific model
- Download firmware version 7.0.1 (for Tz series) or 7.0.1.0 (for NSSP series)
- Review the firmware release notes for any special installation instructions
- Back up your current device configuration
- Upload and install the new firmware through the SonicWall management interface or CLI
- Verify the firmware version after installation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-22278 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-22278 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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