Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
AV:A for same-segment adjacency; AC:H folds the CVSS 4.0 AT:P attack requirement into 3.1 complexity; PR:N/UI:N as unauthenticated with no interaction; C/I/A:H for full appliance code execution.
Primary rating from Vendor (WatchGuard).
CVSS VectorVendor: WatchGuard
Lifecycle Timeline
1DescriptionCVE.org
An Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS may allow an unauthenticated attacker on the same local network segment to execute arbitrary code.
This vulnerability affects Fireware OS 11.0 up to and including 11.12.4_Update1, 12.0 up to and including 12.12 and 2025.1 up to and including 2026.2.
AnalysisAI
Remote code execution in WatchGuard Fireware OS (the firmware powering WatchGuard Firebox firewall appliances) allows an unauthenticated attacker positioned on the same local/adjacent network segment to trigger an out-of-bounds write and execute arbitrary code. The flaw spans a wide firmware range - 11.0 through 11.12.4_Update1, 12.0 through 12.12, and 2025.1 through 2026.2 - and was self-reported by WatchGuard via its PSIRT. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV, but the network-adjacent, unauthenticated, high-impact profile makes it a serious perimeter-device concern.
Technical ContextAI
Fireware OS is the embedded operating system running on WatchGuard Firebox network security appliances (firewalls/UTM gateways). The root cause is classified as CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input, the classic buffer overflow) manifesting as an out-of-bounds write: a service or parser processing adjacent-network traffic copies attacker-influenced data into a fixed-size buffer without adequate bounds checking, corrupting adjacent memory. Because Firebox devices terminate and inspect traffic at the network edge, memory corruption in a network-facing daemon can be steered into control-flow hijack and native code execution on the appliance. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:watchguard:fireware_os:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* confirms Fireware OS itself as the vulnerable component across all listed version branches; the specific vulnerable service or protocol is not disclosed in the advisory summary.
RemediationAI
Patch available per vendor advisory: consult the WatchGuard PSIRT advisory WGSA-2026-00026 (https://www.watchguard.com/wgrd-psirt/advisory/wgsa-2026-00026) and upgrade Fireware OS to the fixed release for your branch - a specific fixed version is not stated in the available data and must be confirmed from that advisory before deployment. Because exploitation requires adjacency (same local network segment), the strongest compensating control while patching is to restrict which hosts and VLANs can reach the Firebox's local-segment attack surface: place management and inter-appliance interfaces on a dedicated, tightly segmented VLAN, and enforce port security/802.1X to keep rogue devices off the segment (trade-off: added network-admin overhead and potential access disruption if 802.1X is misconfigured). Additionally limit which internal hosts share a broadcast domain with the firewall and monitor for unexpected devices on management segments. These controls reduce but do not eliminate risk from an already-compromised internal host, so patching remains the priority.
More in Fireware Os
View allRemote code execution in WatchGuard Fireware OS is possible via a heap overflow (CWE-122) in the iked (IKE/IPsec key man
Remote code execution in WatchGuard Fireware OS affects the iked (IKE/IPsec VPN key-exchange) daemon, where a stack-base
Remote code execution in WatchGuard Fireware OS affects the iked IKE/IPsec VPN daemon, where a memory-safety defect lets
Remote code execution in WatchGuard Fireware OS affects the epm (Endpoint Protection Manager) service tied to the deprec
Remote code execution in WatchGuard Fireware OS affects Fireboxes running a Mobile User VPN with IKEv2 that authenticate
Denial-of-service in WatchGuard Fireware OS lets a remote, unauthenticated attacker crash the IKEv2 VPN service by sendi
Stack-based buffer overflow in the iked (IKE daemon) process of WatchGuard Fireware OS allows a remote unauthenticated a
Remote unauthenticated denial-of-service in WatchGuard Fireware OS targets the iked process, which handles IKE-based VPN
Out-of-bounds read in the WatchGuard Fireware OS iked (Internet Key Exchange daemon) process enables remote unauthentica
Integer underflow in WatchGuard Fireware OS iked (IKE daemon) process enables remote unauthenticated attackers to crash
Remote unauthenticated attackers can crash the VPN processing service on WatchGuard Fireware OS by sending specially cra
Out-of-bounds read in the WatchGuard Fireware OS iked (IKE daemon) process allows remote unauthenticated attackers to di
Same weakness CWE-120 – Classic Buffer Overflow
View allShare
External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-41459
GHSA-h2w9-p676-66ch