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FirewareOperating system · Watchguard

CVE-2024-5974

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.5.12 / 12.10.4 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A buffer overflow in WatchGuard Fireware OS could may allow an authenticated remote attacker with privileged management access to execute arbitrary code with system privileges on the firewall. This issue affects Fireware OS: from 11.9.6 through 12.10.3.

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

A buffer overflow vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS allows an authenticated remote attacker with privileged management access to execute arbitrary code with system privileges. The vulnerability exists in versions 11.9.6 through 12.10.3 and stems from improper bounds checking in the management interface.

MitigationUpgrade Fireware OS to a version beyond 12.10.3 once available. Until then, restrict management interface access to only trusted IP addresses and enforce strong credential policies for privileged management accounts.

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:>= 11.9.4, < 12.5.12>= 12.6, < 12.10.4= 12.5.12

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 installed Fireware OS version
    Log into the Firebox management interface (Web UI) and navigate to System Status > Firewall OS, or use the CLI command 'fwctl version' or 'system status' to retrieve the current OS version
    Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 11.9.4 through 12.5.11, exactly 12.5.12, or 12.6.0 through 12.10.3. Versions below 11.9.4, exactly 12.5.11, exactly 12.10.4, or versions above 12.10.4 are NOT affected.
  2. Verify management interface accessibility
    Check if the Firebox management interface (Web UI on ports 443/8080 or CLI on port 4117) is exposed to untrusted networks. Review firewall policies and external access rules to determine which IP addresses can reach the management services
    Affected if The management interface is accessible from untrusted or external networks, making it potentially reachable by remote attackers.
  3. Review privileged management accounts
    Audit the list of users with privileged (read-write) management access in the Firebox User Database or external authentication directory. Use Web UI: Users > Setup or CLI: 'show users' command
    Affected if There exist privileged management accounts, especially if those credentials could be compromised or are used by multiple administrators.
  4. Check for management access from external sources
    Examine firewall policy logs and traffic monitoring for management interface access attempts from external IP addresses. Review the 'Management' access rule in the policy set
    Affected if There is evidence of or allowance for management interface access originating from outside trusted internal networks.

You are affected if your Fireware OS version is 11.9.4 through 12.5.11, exactly 12.5.12, or 12.6.0 through 12.10.3 AND the management interface is accessible to an authenticated attacker with privileged credentials.

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 12.5.12 / 12.10.4 or later
Fixed in 12.5.1212.10.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Fireware OS to a version beyond 12.10.3 once available. Until then, restrict management interface access to only trusted IP addresses and enforce strong credential policies for privileged management accounts.

Recommended fix High confidence

Fireware OS 12.10.4 or later (or 12.5.12 if remaining on the 12.5.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current Fireware OS version installed on the WatchGuard firewall appliance
  2. 2. Access the WatchGuard firewall management interface (Web UI) or Fireware Web UI
  3. 3. Navigate to System > Firmware or the appropriate firmware upgrade section
  4. 4. Download the appropriate firmware image (Fireware OS 12.5.12 or 12.10.4 or later) from the official WatchGuard support portal at www.watchguard.com
  5. 5. Upload the firmware image through the management interface
  6. 6. Follow the on-screen prompts to apply the firmware upgrade
  7. 7. After the upgrade completes, verify the new firmware version is running and confirm the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Standard firmware upgrade; ensure backup of configuration before upgrading; may require downtime for the upgrade process

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

Fix this in Fireware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2024-5974 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