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FirewareOperating system · Watchguard

CVE-2025-12026

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.5.14 / 12.11.5 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
An Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS’s certificate request command could allow an authenticated privileged user to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted CLI commands.

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in WatchGuard Fireware OS certificate request command handling. An authenticated privileged user can send specially crafted CLI commands to trigger a buffer overflow, leading to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Fireware OS to a version beyond the fixed releases (12.11.5, 12.5.14, or 2025.1.3). If immediate patching is not possible, restrict CLI access to only highly trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious certificate request commands.

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:>= 2025.1, < 2025.1.3>= 12.0.0, < 12.11.5>= 12.5, < 12.5.14

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. Determine Fireware OS version
    Access the Firebox web UI (Policy Manager) and navigate to System Status > About, or use the CLI command 'fwver' to retrieve the installed Fireware OS version.
    Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 2025.1.x where x < 3; 12.0.0 through 12.11.4; 12.5.x where x < 14
  2. Verify CLI access status
    In Firebox web UI, go to System Administration > Administrative Access and check if CLI/SSH access is enabled. Also review any firewall policies allowing CLI connections.
    Affected if CLI (SSH or console) access is enabled and reachable from any network where untrusted users exist
  3. Identify certificate request configuration
    In Firebox web UI, navigate to System > Certificates and examine any certificate request (CSR) configurations. In CLI, use 'cert' or 'certificate' commands to list existing certificate requests.
    Affected if Any certificate request operations have been performed or configured on the device
  4. Check for privileged administrator accounts
    In Firebox web UI, go to System Administration > Users and Privileges to review accounts with administrative CLI privileges. Look for accounts beyond the default admin account.
    Affected if Multiple privileged administrator accounts exist, or any privileged account could be compromised

Your environment is affected if CLI access is enabled AND your Fireware OS version matches one of the affected ranges (2025.1.x before 2025.1.3, 12.0.0-12.11.4, or 12.5.x before 12.5.14) AND you have certificate request functionality configured.

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 12.5.14 / 12.11.5 / 2025.1.3 or later
Fixed in 12.5.1412.11.52025.1.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Fireware OS to a version beyond the fixed releases (12.11.5, 12.5.14, or 2025.1.3). If immediate patching is not possible, restrict CLI access to only highly trusted administrators and monitor for suspicious certificate request commands.

Recommended fix High confidence

2025.1.3+ or 12.11.5+ or 12.5.14+ depending on current branch

  1. Identify the current Fireware OS version running on the WatchGuard device
  2. For Fireware 2025.1.x: upgrade to version 2025.1.3 or later
  3. For Fireware 12.0.x through 12.11.x: upgrade to version 12.11.5 or later
  4. For Fireware 12.5.x: upgrade to version 12.5.14 or later
  5. Download the appropriate firmware from the WatchGuard support portal
  6. Upload and apply the firmware through the WatchGuard Firebox System Manager or WebUI following standard upgrade procedures
  7. Verify the system is running the patched version after reboot
Caveat Review WatchGuard release notes for any compatibility concerns or configuration changes required during upgrade

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

Fix this in Fireware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2025-12026 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