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FirewareOperating system · Watchguard

CVE-2025-13939

MEDIUM · 6.1 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 →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation (XSS or 'Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS (Gateway Wireless Controller module) allows Stored XSS.

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

Stored XSS vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS Gateway Wireless Controller module allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through unsanitized input that persists on the device and executes in the browsers of other administrative users accessing the affected web interface.

MitigationApply vendor patches from WatchGuard (versions 11.12.5, 12.11.5, 12.5.14, 2025.1.3 or later). Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious session activity.

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>= 11.7.2, < 12.11.5>= 11.7.2, < 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 installed Fireware OS version
    Access the WatchGuard web management interface and navigate to System > About, or use the CLI command 'fw ver' to retrieve the exact Fireware OS version number
    Affected if Version is 2025.1 through 2025.1.2, or 11.7.2 through 12.11.4, or 11.7.2 through 12.5.13 (falls within any of the three affected ranges)
  2. Confirm Gateway Wireless Controller is active
    Log into the Fireware web UI and locate the Gateway Wireless Controller module (typically under Network > Wireless or a dedicated Wireless Controller section) to verify the feature is enabled
    Affected if The Wireless Controller module is enabled and running on the device
  3. Inspect wireless controller configuration entries
    Review all wireless controller settings including SSID names, security policies, user roles, and any custom fields where administrators can input data; look for unexpected HTML tags, script elements, or javascript: protocol handlers
    Affected if Any configuration field in the wireless controller contains raw script tags, event handlers, or suspicious encoded content that was not entered by the current administrator

User is affected if Fireware version is within any of the specified vulnerable ranges AND the Gateway Wireless Controller module is enabled on the device.

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

Apply vendor patches from WatchGuard (versions 11.12.5, 12.11.5, 12.5.14, 2025.1.3 or later). Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted users only and monitor for suspicious session activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Fireware OS 2025.1.3 or later (for 2025.1.x), 12.5.14 or later (for 12.5.x), or 12.11.5 or later (for 12.0-12.11.x); legacy 11.x users should migrate to a supported 12.x release

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Fireware OS version from the Firebox management interface (Dashboard > System Status)
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies: 2025.1.x -> 2025.1.3+, 12.5.x -> 12.5.14+, 12.0-12.11.x -> 12.11.5+, or 11.7.2-11.12.4 -> latest 12.x release
  3. 3. Download the appropriate Fireware OS upgrade image from the WatchGuard portal at www.watchguard.com/support/fireware-software
  4. 4. Back up the current Firebox configuration from Policy Manager (Setup > Backup) or via the web UI (System > Backup Config)
  5. 5. Upload and apply the upgrade: In Firebox System Manager, go to Actions > Upgrade, select the new image file, and confirm the upgrade
  6. 6. After the device reboots, verify the new version is installed and confirm all services are functioning normally
  7. 7. Verify the XSS vulnerability is resolved by confirming the Gateway Wireless Controller functions correctly without injected scripts
Caveat Review WatchGuard release notes for any configuration or feature changes between versions; some legacy 11.x configurations may require adjustment when migrating to 12.x

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

Fix this in Fireware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
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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-2025-13939 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