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Full vulnerability report · 2022
CVE-2022-3236High confidence

Sophos Firewall Code Injection Vulnerability

Sophos · Firewall

9.8CriticalCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Protect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-10-14 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
Optional official sources

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

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

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-2022-42644

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

A code injection vulnerability in the User Portal and Webadmin allows a remote attacker to execute code in Sophos Firewall version v19.0 MR1 and older.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 23 Sept 2022. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
9.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
1 linked advisory record
Recommended actionProtect now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-10-14 as the remediation due date.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

A code injection vulnerability in the User Portal and Webadmin of Sophos Firewall allows for remote code execution.

What

A code injection vulnerability in the User Portal and Webadmin of Sophos Firewall allows for remote code execution.

Why

Untrusted data can cross into a code-evaluation path and be interpreted as executable instructions.

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

A code injection vulnerability in the User Portal and Webadmin of Sophos Firewall allows for remote code execution.

Why

Untrusted data can cross into a code-evaluation path and be interpreted as executable instructions.

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 2022-09-23.

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 Generation of Code ('Code Injection') → 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-94 ↗

CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'). The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.

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-94CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

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

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-42644Known-exploited evidence recorded

A code injection vulnerability in the User Portal and Webadmin allows a remote attacker to execute code in Sophos Firewall version v19.0 MR1 and older.

Official EUVD record
BSI · German · WID-SEC-W-2022-2217Sophos Firewall: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Ein entfernter, anonymer oder authentisierter Angreifer kann mehrere Schwachstellen in Sophos Firewall ausnutzen, um beliebigen Programmcode auszuführen, einen Cross-Site-Scripting-Angriff durchzuführen oder Dateien zu manipulieren.

Official advisory
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2022-AVI-853Vulnérabilité dans Sophos Firewall

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans Sophos Firewall. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire à distance. Sophos indique que la vulnérabilité CVE-2022-3236 est activement exploitée dans le cadre d'attaques ciblées. De plus, le portail utilisateur ainsi que l'interface de gestion ne devraient pas être accessibles sur Internet.

Official advisory
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2022-AVI-1077Multiples vulnérabilités dans Sophos Firewall

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans Sophos Firewall. Elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire à distance, une atteinte à la confidentialité des données et une injection de code indirecte à distance (XSS).

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.
Fix not verified
Affected
unspecified ≤ 18.5 MR4; unspecified ≤ 19.0 MR1
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
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 23 Sept 2022 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:15 UTC · CWE-94 · Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

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-2022-42644
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
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 →

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2022-42644↗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-2022-3236 · cve.blacktree.nl