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FirewareOperating system · Watchguard

CVE-2025-13940

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.11.5 / 2025.1.3 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Expected Behavior Violation [CWE-440] vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS may allow an attacker to bypass the Fireware OS boot time system integrity check and prevent the Firebox from shutting down in the event of a system integrity check failure. The on-demand system integrity check in the Fireware Web UI will correctly show a failed system integrity check message in the event of a failure.

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 vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS allows attackers to bypass the boot-time system integrity check mechanism, preventing the Firebox from automatically shutting down when integrity violations are detected. The on-demand integrity check via the Fireware Web UI remains functional and will correctly display failures.

MitigationUpgrade Fireware OS to a version beyond the affected ranges (12.11.4 and 2025.1.2) once a patched release is available from WatchGuard.

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>= 12.8.1, < 12.11.5

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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. Identify the installed Fireware OS version
    Log into the Fireware Web UI and navigate to System > Status, or use the CLI command 'fwcmnutil get_version' to display the current firmware version.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 12.8.1 to 12.11.4 inclusive, or 2025.1 to 2025.1.2 inclusive.
  2. Confirm boot-time integrity check configuration
    Access the Fireware Web UI and navigate to System > Integrity Verification to verify whether the boot-time integrity check feature is enabled.
    Affected if The boot-time integrity check is enabled and the installed version is within the affected ranges.
  3. Review integrity check logs for bypass indicators
    Use the Fireware Web UI to access System > Log Messages or the CLI command 'log read' to search for integrity verification events around boot time.
    Affected if Integrity violations are detected at boot time but no automatic shutdown occurred, while the on-demand integrity check shows expected results.
  4. Compare against supported version list
    Consult the WatchGuard Knowledge Base or use WatchGuard System Manager to confirm the exact patch version running on the device.
    Affected if The device is running any version prior to 12.11.5 or 2025.1.3 with the boot integrity feature active.

A device is affected if it runs Fireware OS version 12.8.1 through 12.11.4 or 2025.1 through 2025.1.2 and has the boot-time integrity check feature enabled.

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 12.11.5 / 2025.1.3 or later
Fixed in 12.11.52025.1.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Fireware OS to a version beyond the affected ranges (12.11.4 and 2025.1.2) once a patched release is available from WatchGuard.

Recommended fix High confidence

Fireware OS 12.11.5 (for 12.8.1-12.11.4) or 2025.1.3 (for 2025.1-2025.1.2)

  1. Log in to the WatchGuard Firebox management interface
  2. Navigate to Fireware Web UI
  3. Go to System > Firmware
  4. Download the appropriate fixed firmware version (12.11.5 for 12.x branch or 2025.1.3 for 2025.x branch)
  5. Upload the firmware file to the Firebox
  6. Initiate the firmware upgrade process
  7. After upgrade, verify the system integrity check functions correctly by checking the Fireware Web UI status
Caveat Review WatchGuard release notes for any behavioral changes or feature modifications in the new version before upgrading

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

Fix this in Fireware 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-2025-13940 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