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Next Generation FirewallApplication · Forcepoint

CVE-2025-12690

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.10.20 / 7.1.11 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
Execution with unnecessary privileges in Forcepoint NGFW Engine allows local privilege escalation.This issue affects NGFW Engine through 6.10.19, through 7.3.0, through 7.2.4, through 7.1.10.

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

Forcepoint NGFW Engine contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where the software executes with unnecessary privileges, allowing a local authenticated attacker to elevate their privileges to higher permissions on the affected system. This is a local attack requiring no remote access.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a patched version of Forcepoint NGFW Engine beyond the affected version ranges (6.10.19+, 7.1.10+, 7.2.4+, 7.3.0+).

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
Next Generation FirewallApplication
Affected:< 6.10.20>= 7.1.0, < 7.1.11>= 7.2.0, < 7.2.5= 7.3.0

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 Forcepoint NGFW Engine installation and version
    Run 'rpm -qa | grep forcepoint' or 'dpkg -l | grep forcepoint' to list installed Forcepoint packages. Alternatively, check /var/opt/forcepoint directory or look for 'fwsm' or 'ngfw' processes with 'ps aux | grep -i forcepoint'.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the vulnerable ranges: < 6.10.20, >= 7.1.0 and < 7.1.11, >= 7.2.0 and < 7.2.5, or exactly 7.3.0
  2. Check which user account Forcepoint services run under
    Run 'ps aux | grep -E "fwsm|forcepoint"' to list Forcepoint processes and their associated user accounts. Also check /etc/init.d/ or systemd service files for Forcepoint services.
    Affected if Forcepoint services run as root or as a privileged system account when they could run with reduced privileges
  3. Verify file permissions on Forcepoint binaries and scripts
    Run 'ls -la /opt/forcepoint/*/bin/*' or 'ls -la /var/opt/forcepoint/*/bin/*' to check ownership and permissions on Forcepoint executable files.
    Affected if Binaries are owned by root and have setuid/setgid bits, or have world-writable permissions that could allow privilege escalation
  4. Check for unnecessary privilege grants
    Review sudo configurations with 'sudo -l -U <forcepoint_user>' for any Forcepoint-specific user accounts. Check /etc/sudoers and /etc/sudoers.d/ for Forcepoint-related entries.
    Affected if A local authenticated user can execute commands with elevated privileges through Forcepoint configurations that grant excessive permissions

You are affected if Forcepoint NGFW Engine is installed and its version falls within the vulnerable ranges, and the software runs with elevated privileges that could be exploited by a local authenticated user for privilege escalation.

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 6.10.20 / 7.1.11 / 7.2.5 or later
Fixed in 6.10.207.1.117.2.5
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches or upgrade to a patched version of Forcepoint NGFW Engine beyond the affected version ranges (6.10.19+, 7.1.10+, 7.2.4+, 7.3.0+).

Recommended fix High confidence

NGFW Engine 6.10.20, 7.1.11, 7.2.5, or 7.3.1+ depending on current branch

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Forcepoint NGFW Engine version using the management interface or command line
  2. 2. Determine which version branch you are running (6.x, 7.1.x, 7.2.x, or 7.3.x)
  3. 3. For NGFW Engine 6.x versions: Plan upgrade to version 6.10.20 or later
  4. 4. For NGFW Engine 7.1.x versions: Plan upgrade to version 7.1.11 or later
  5. 5. For NGFW Engine 7.2.x versions: Plan upgrade to version 7.2.5 or later
  6. 6. For NGFW Engine 7.3.0: Plan upgrade to version 7.3.1 or later
  7. 7. Review Forcepoint upgrade documentation and release notes for the target version
  8. 8. Create a backup of the current configuration before upgrading
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any configuration or behavioral changes between versions

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

Fix this in Next Generation Firewall Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,820
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,512.

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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-2025-12690 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