CVE-2022-26318

CRITICAL KEV

WatchGuard XTM Firebox Unauthenticated Remote Command Execution

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2022-26318 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added March 25, 2022. EIP tracks 5 public exploits from researchers including misterxid, h3llk4t3, BabyTeam1024, including a Metasploit module exploits/linux/http/watchguard_firebox_unauth_rce_cve_2022_26318.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This is a Python-based exploit for CVE-2022-26318, targeting WatchGuard XTM or FireWare OS. It leverages a buffer overflow in the agent.login method to achieve remote code execution (RCE) via a reverse shell.

Description

On WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances, an unauthenticated user can execute arbitrary code, aka FBX-22786. This vulnerability impacts Fireware OS before 12.7.2_U2, 12.x before 12.1.3_U8, and 12.2.x through 12.5.x before 12.5.9_U2.

Exploits (5)

nomisec WORKING POC 10 stars
by misterxid · remote
https://github.com/misterxid/watchguard_cve-2022-26318

This is a Python-based exploit for CVE-2022-26318, targeting WatchGuard XTM or FireWare OS. It leverages a buffer overflow in the agent.login method to achieve remote code execution (RCE) via a reverse shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: WatchGuard XTM or FireWare OS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device on port 4117 · Python 3 environment
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 3 stars
by h3llk4t3 · remote
https://github.com/h3llk4t3/Watchguard-RCE-POC-CVE-2022-26318

This is a functional exploit for CVE-2022-26318, a buffer overflow vulnerability in WatchGuard XTM and FireWare OS. The PoC sends a maliciously crafted gzipped payload to trigger remote code execution via a reverse shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: WatchGuard XTM, FireWare OS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target's management interface (port 4117) · A listener set up on the attacker's machine
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by BabyTeam1024 · poc
https://github.com/BabyTeam1024/CVE-2022-26318

This exploit targets CVE-2022-26318, a buffer overflow vulnerability in WatchGuard XTM/FireWare OS. It constructs a gzipped HTTP POST request with a malicious payload to achieve remote code execution via a reverse shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: WatchGuard XTM/FireWare OS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target device on port 4117 · A listener set up on the attacker's machine to receive the reverse shell
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by egilas · remote
https://github.com/egilas/Watchguard-RCE-POC-CVE-2022-26318

This PoC exploits CVE-2022-26318, a buffer overflow vulnerability in WatchGuard XTM/FireWare OS, to achieve remote code execution via a crafted HTTP POST request with gzipped payload. The exploit sends a reverse shell to a specified listener.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: WatchGuard XTM/FireWare OS
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to target on port 4117 · Listener set up on attacker-controlled host
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC GOOD
rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/watchguard_firebox_unauth_rce_cve_2022_26318.rb

This Metasploit module exploits a buffer overflow in WatchGuard Firebox and XTM appliances via the `/agent/login` endpoint, leading to unauthenticated remote code execution as the `nobody` user. It uses a crafted XML-RPC payload with ROP chains and shellcode to spawn a reverse Python shell.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: WatchGuard Fireware OS before 12.7.2_U2, 12.x before 12.1.3_U8, and 12.2.x through 12.5.x before 12.5.9_U2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the administration interface (port 8080 or 4117) · Python installed on the target system
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

Scores

CVSS v3 9.8
EPSS 0.9255
EPSS Percentile 99.8%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable yes
Technical Impact total

Details

CISA KEV 2022-03-25
VulnCheck KEV 2022-03-17
InTheWild.io 2022-03-25
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2022-30879
Status published
Products (4)
watchguard/fireware 12.1.3 (8 CPE variants)
watchguard/fireware 12.5.9 u1
watchguard/fireware 12.7.2 u1
watchguard/fireware 12.0.0 - 12.1.3
Published Mar 04, 2022
KEV Added Mar 25, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026