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Full vulnerability report · 2022
CVE-2022-27518High confidence

Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway Authentication Bypass Vulnerability

Citrix · Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway

9.8CriticalCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Mitigate now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2023-01-03 as the remediation due date.

Mitigation available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityCriticalOperational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • The selected CVSS metric records a network-reachable, unauthenticated path with no user interaction.
  • EPSS is 6.68% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Apply the linked authoritative mitigation while planning the permanent fix.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2022-32019

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

Unauthenticated remote arbitrary code execution

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 13 Dec 2022. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
9.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
1 linked advisory record
Recommended actionMitigate now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2023-01-03 as the remediation due date.

Mitigation available
01

What, why and how

Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway, when configured with SAML SP or IdP configuration, contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code as administrator.

What

Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway, when configured with SAML SP or IdP configuration, contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code as administrator.

Why

The product does not maintain or incorrectly maintains control over a resource throughout its lifetime of creation, use, and release.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

What

Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway, when configured with SAML SP or IdP configuration, contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code as administrator.

Why

The product does not maintain or incorrectly maintains control over a resource throughout its lifetime of creation, use, and release.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may execute code or commands in the affected security context.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-12-13.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime → execute code or commands in the affected security context
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-664 ↗

CWE-664: Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime. The product does not maintain or incorrectly maintains control over a resource throughout its lifetime of creation, use, and release.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
After compromise, an attacker may use built-in shells, scripting engines, scheduled tasks and native network utilities for discovery, persistence or movement. This is a plausible LoTL path, not evidence that it has occurred for every attack.
NetworkUnauthenticatedRemote code executionCWE-664CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-32019Known-exploited evidence recorded

Unauthenticated remote arbitrary code execution

Official EUVD record ↗
BSI · German · WID-SEC-2022-2317Citrix Systems ADC: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Codeausführung

Ein entfernter, anonymer Angreifer kann eine Schwachstelle in Citrix Systems ADC und Citrix Systems Citrix Gateway ausnutzen, um beliebigen Programmcode auszuführen.

Official advisory ↗
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security · English · AV22-697Citrix security advisory (AV22-697)

On 13 December 2022, Citrix published a Security Advisory to address a critical vulnerability in the following products: Exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to remote code execution.

Official advisory ↗
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20221214Security Bulletin 14 Dec 2022

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 14 Dec 2022, published on 14 December 2022. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2022-AVI-1091Vulnérabilité dans Citrix ADC et Gateway

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans Citrix ADC et Gateway. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire à distance.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2022-023238シトリックス・システムズの Citrix Application Delivery Controller ファームウェアおよび Citrix Gateway ファームウェアにおける脆弱性

シトリックス・システムズの Citrix Application Delivery Controller ファームウェアおよび Citrix Gateway ファームウェアには、不特定の脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5805Citrix 제품 보안 업데이트 권고

Citrix Gateway 및 Citrix ADC에서 발생하는 원격 코드 실행 취약점 (CVE-2022-27518)

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5801현재 악용되고 있는 Exploit(Update. 2022-12-13)

Citrix Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and Gateway, when configured with SAML SP or IdP configuration, contain an authentication bypass vulnerability which allows an attacker to execute code as administrator.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Mitigation available
Affected
Citrix Gateway, Citrix ADC: 12.1, 13.0, 12.1 FIPs, NDcPP
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
The Cyber Centre encourages users and administrators to review the provided web link and apply the necessary updates.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. If business-safe, reduce exposure to the affected interface and allow only trusted sources until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 13 Dec 2022 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:15 UTC · CWE-664 · Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-32019
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: removed remediation: cyber.gc.ca/citrix-security-advisory-av22-697.
    Before
    remediation: cyber.gc.ca/citrix-security-advisory-av22-697 · vendor advisory: support.citrix.com/CTX474995
    After
    vendor advisory: support.citrix.com/CTX474995
    support.citrix.com ↗
  2. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Mitigation available to Awaiting fix.
    Before
    Mitigation available
    After
    Awaiting fix
    support.citrix.com ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    12.1; 13.0; 12.1 FIPs, NDcPP · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    Citrix Gateway, Citrix ADC: 12.1, 13.0, 12.1 FIPs, NDcPP · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
  4. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Mitigation available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Mitigation available
    Canadian Centre for Cyber Security ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Remediation guidance recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-32019↗Canadian Centre for Cyber Security remediation guidance↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2022-27518 · cve.blacktree.nl