CVE Intelligence
High Access control

CVE-2026-13079 — WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Windows Client Local Privilege Escalation

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL client for Windows allows a local attacker to escalate their privileges to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM on the machine where the client is installed. This issue affects the Mobile VPN with SSL client for Windows up to and including 2026.2.

Published Jul 2, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: WatchGuard

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
—
No EPSS score.
Affects
WatchGuard
Fireware and 2 more
CVSS base
7.8
High · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (WatchGuard Fireware, WatchGuard Mobile Vpn With Ssl, WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Client).
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
WatchGuard Fireware ≥ 12.0.0 and < 12.12.1≥ 2025.1 and < 2026.2.1≥ 12.5 and ≤ 12.5.18 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
WatchGuard Mobile Vpn With Ssl < 2026.2.1 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Client ≥ 12.0 and < 2026.2.1 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.3 CVSS 4.0 High — — 5d1c2695-1a31-4499-88ae-e847036fd7e3 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.3 CVSS 4.0 High — — WatchGuard via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-732 · Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)authentication logsapplication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · watchguard/mobile vpn with ssl client
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.8
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Jul 2, 2026 · WatchGuard

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

2 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

WatchGuard
every CVE for this vendor
Access control
same class
CWE-732
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-86134 Fireware OS Pre-Authentication NULL Pointer Dereference Allows Remote Denial of Service 15d
  • CVE-2026-86133 Fireware OS Pre-Authentication Integer Underflow in iked Allows Remote Denial of Service 16d
  • CVE-2026-86136 Fireware OS Missing Authorization in wgagent Management API Allows Denial of Service - Variant A 16d
  • CVE-2026-90441 Fireware OS Missing Authorization in wgagent Management API Allows Denial of Service - Variant B 16d
  • CVE-2026-86101 Fireware OS Authorization Bypass in SAML Login Allows Unauthorized SSLVPN Access 16d
  • CVE-2026-86128 Fireware OS NULL Pointer Dereference in NetFlow IPv6 Traffic Processing Allows Remote Denial of Service 16d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No FIRST EPSS score.
  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-13079 is "WatchGuard Mobile VPN with SSL Windows Client Local Privilege Escalation", rated High. It affects Fireware (WatchGuard); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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