CVE-2022-23176: WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-2a1ade8cf3c6, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z.

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name: WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Vendor: WatchGuard
Product: Firebox and XTM
Added to the catalog: 2022-04-11
Due date for US federal agencies: 2022-05-02
Catalog version: 2026.10.30

WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances allow a remote attacker with unprivileged credentials to access the system with a privileged management session via exposed management access.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23176

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status: Analyzed
Published: 2022-02-24T15:15:28.447
Last modified: 2026-06-17T04:29:37.677
Weaknesses: NVD-CWE-noinfo

WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances allow a remote attacker with unprivileged credentials to access the system with a privileged management session via exposed management access. This vulnerability impacts Fireware OS before 12.7.2_U1, 12.x before 12.1.3_U3, and 12.2.x through 12.5.x before 12.5.7_U3.

Metric	Score	Severity	Vector	Scored by
CVSS 3.1	8.8	HIGH	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H	[email protected] (Primary)
CVSS 3.1	8.8	HIGH	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (Secondary)
CVSS 2.0	9	HIGH	AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C	[email protected] (Primary)

References

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/04/watchguard-failed-to-disclose-critical-flaw-exploited-by-russian-hackers/ (Third Party Advisory)
https://securityportal.watchguard.com (Vendor Advisory)
https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_1_3_U7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7_2/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/04/watchguard-failed-to-disclose-critical-flaw-exploited-by-russian-hackers/ (Third Party Advisory)
https://securityportal.watchguard.com (Vendor Advisory)
https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_1_3_U7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.watchguard.com/support/release-notes/fireware/12/en-US/EN_ReleaseNotes_Fireware_12_7_2/index.html#Fireware/en-US/resolved_issues.html (Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-23176 (US Government Resource)

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:59.479Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2022-23176

CVE record

Assigner: mitre
State: PUBLISHED
Published: 2022-02-24T00:52:48.000Z
Updated: 2025-10-21T23:15:45.629Z
Problem types: n/a

References

Read on 2026-11-03T01:10:08.556Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2022/23xxx/CVE-2022-23176.json

Sources and licences

CISA
Source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30, CC0 1.0. Use of this data does not imply endorsement by CISA or DHS.
CC0 1.0 Universal
National Vulnerability Database (NIST)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)
CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation
Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.
CVE Program Terms of Use ("CVE Usage" licence)

Cite this page

Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2022-23176: WatchGuard Firebox and XTM Privilege Escalation Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-2a1ade8cf3c6, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2022-23176 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30.
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-06-17T04:29:37.677.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2025-10-21T23:15:45.629Z.

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