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FirewareOperating system · Watchguard

CVE-2022-31791

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.1.4 / 12.5.10 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances allow a local attacker (that has already obtained shell access) to elevate their privileges and execute code with root permissions. This is fixed in Fireware OS 12.8.1, 12.5.10, and 12.1.4.

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 · high confidence

WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability allowing an attacker with existing shell access to elevate to root privileges and execute arbitrary code with full root permissions.

MitigationApply the vendor-released firmware updates (Fireware OS 12.8.1, 12.5.10, or 12.1.4) to all affected appliances to remediate this vulnerability.

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
FirewareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0.0, < 12.1.4>= 12.2.0, < 12.5.10= 12.6.1= 12.6.3= 12.6.4= 12.7.0= 12.7.1= 12.7.2= 12.8.0

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the appliance model
    Check if the device is a WatchGuard Firebox or XTM appliance by examining the system model information via command line (e.g., `sysctl hw.model` or checking boot logs) or through the web management interface
    Affected if The device is not a WatchGuard Firebox or XTM appliance - this vulnerability does not apply
  2. Determine the installed Fireware version
    Run the command `fireware -v` or `cat /var/os-version` on the appliance shell to retrieve the Fireware OS version
    Affected if The version cannot be determined - you cannot confirm if the vulnerability applies
  3. Compare the version to affected ranges
    Compare the installed Fireware version to the affected ranges: 12.0.0 to 12.1.3, 12.2.0 to 12.5.9, 12.6.1, 12.6.3, 12.6.4, 12.7.0, 12.7.1, 12.7.2, or 12.8.0
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges - the appliance is vulnerable to privilege escalation
  4. Verify shell access exists
    This vulnerability requires an attacker to have existing shell access on the appliance. Check if shell access is enabled and accessible via SSH or console
    Affected if Shell access is enabled and available - combined with a vulnerable version, an attacker with shell access could escalate to root

The appliance is affected if it is a WatchGuard Firebox or XTM device running any Fireware version within 12.0.0-12.1.3, 12.2.0-12.5.9, 12.6.1, 12.6.3, 12.6.4, 12.7.0-12.7.2, or 12.8.0, and shell access is present on the system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.1.4 / 12.5.10 or later
Fixed in 12.1.412.5.10
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-released firmware updates (Fireware OS 12.8.1, 12.5.10, or 12.1.4) to all affected appliances to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Fireware OS 12.8.1 (or 12.5.10 or 12.1.4 depending on current branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current Fireware OS version running on the WatchGuard Firebox or XTM appliance via the management interface or CLI
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: if on 12.0.x-12.1.x, upgrade to 12.1.4; if on 12.2.x-12.5.x, upgrade to 12.5.10; if on 12.6.x, upgrade to 12.8.1
  3. 3. Download the appropriate Fireware OS upgrade image from the WatchGuard support portal (www.watchguard.com)
  4. 4. Back up the current Firebox configuration
  5. 5. Upload the upgrade image through the Firebox management interface (Web UI) or via CLI using the 'upgrade' command
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade completes successfully and the appliance reboots into the new version
  7. 7. Confirm the running version matches the expected fixed version
Caveat Review WatchGuard release notes for any configuration or feature changes between versions; test upgrade in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fireware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-31791 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data