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SonicosOperating system · Sonicwall

CVE-2023-39278

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 / 6.5.4.13-105n or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
SonicOS post-authentication user assertion failure leads to Stack-Based Buffer Overflow vulnerability via main.cgi leads to a firewall crash.

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 confidence

A post-authentication stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in SonicOS main.cgi interface. The vulnerability stems from a user assertion failure that allows an authenticated attacker to trigger a stack buffer overflow, resulting in firewall crash (denial of service).

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch from SonicWall for affected SonicOS versions. Restrict administrative management interface access to trusted networks or VPN to reduce attack surface.

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
SonicosOperating system
Affected:< 7.0.1-5145< 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340< 6.5.4.13-105n

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the device and confirm SonicOS is running
    Access the device management interface or use SNMP/CLI commands (such as 'show version' or 'get system status') to confirm the device is a SonicWall appliance running SonicOS firmware.
    Affected if The device is not a SonicWall appliance or does not run SonicOS.
  2. Retrieve the installed SonicOS version
    Log into the SonicWall administrative interface (web GUI or CLI) and navigate to System > Status or use the 'show version' command in CLI to obtain the exact firmware version string.
    Affected if Unable to retrieve a version number from the device.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges for SonicOS 7.x
    Check if the retrieved version is below 7.0.1-5145. If the version string starts with 7.0, extract the full version number and compare numerically to 7.0.1-5145.
    Affected if The installed version is 7.0.x and is lower than 7.0.1-5145.
  4. Compare version against affected ranges for SonicOS 6.5.4.4
    Check if the retrieved version is below 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340. If the version string starts with 6.5.4.4, extract the build number and compare to 44v-21-2340.
    Affected if The installed version is 6.5.4.4-x and is lower than 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340.
  5. Compare version against affected ranges for SonicOS 6.5.4.13
    Check if the retrieved version is below 6.5.4.13-105n. If the version string starts with 6.5.4.13, extract the build number and compare to 105n.
    Affected if The installed version is 6.5.4.13-x and is lower than 6.5.4.13-105n.

The device is affected if it is a SonicWall appliance running SonicOS with a version lower than 7.0.1-5145, lower than 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340, or lower than 6.5.4.13-105n.

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 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 / 6.5.4.13-105n / 7.0.1-5145 or later
Fixed in 6.5.4.4-44v-21-23406.5.4.13-105n7.0.1-5145
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patch from SonicWall for affected SonicOS versions. Restrict administrative management interface access to trusted networks or VPN to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

SonicOS 7.0.1-5145 (or later); 6.5.4.4-44v-21-2340 (or later); 6.5.4.13-105n (or later)

  1. 1. Identify the current SonicOS version running on the firewall device
  2. 2. Determine which version branch the device is running (7.0.x, 6.5.4.4-x, or 6.5.4.13-x)
  3. 3. For devices on 7.0.x branch: Upgrade to version 7.0.1-5145 or later
  4. 4. For devices on 6.5.4.4-x branch: Upgrade to version 44v-21-2340 or later
  5. 5. For devices on 6.5.4.13-x branch: Upgrade to version 105n or later
  6. 6. Download the firmware from the official SonicWall support portal (mysonicwall.com)
  7. 7. Upload and apply the firmware upgrade through the SonicWall management interface
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify the device is functioning properly and the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Standard firmware upgrade may cause brief downtime; ensure configuration backup before upgrading; some legacy features may not be available in newer versions

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

Fix this in Sonicos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-39278 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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