Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-0204

Access Control in Sonicwall Sonicos ≤ 6.5.5.2-28n

Access Control
Published
29 April 2026
Modified
05 May 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0042 35th percentile
Risk Priority 58 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-0204 is a high-severity Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability in Sonicwall Sonicos. Its CVSS base score is 8.0 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Brute Force (T1110); ranked at the 35th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-14 (Permitted Actions Without Identification or Authentication) and IA-12 (Identity Proofing) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2026-0204 is a vulnerability in the access control mechanism of SonicOS, the operating system used in SonicWall firewalls and security appliances. It may allow certain management interface functions to be accessible under specific conditions. The issue is linked to CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function) and CWE-1390 (Weak Access Permissions), with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.0 (AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). The vulnerability was published on 2026-04-29.

The attack scenario requires an attacker with adjacent network access (AV:A) and low complexity (AC:L), needing no privileges (PR:N) but relying on user interaction (UI:R). Successful exploitation enables high-impact effects on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H) within the unchanged scope (S:U), potentially granting unauthorized access to sensitive management interface functions.

Mitigation details are provided in the SonicWall PSIRT advisory at https://psirt.global.sonicwall.com/vuln-detail/SNWLID-2026-0004.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability in the access control mechanism of SonicOS may allow certain management interface functions to be accessible under specific conditions.

CWE(s)
CWE-306CWE-1390

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1110 Brute Force Credential Access
Adversaries may use brute force techniques to gain access to accounts when passwords are unknown or when password hashes are obtained.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1078 Valid Accounts Stealth
Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion.
attack.mitre.org →
T1110.001 Password Guessing Credential Access
Adversaries with no prior knowledge of legitimate credentials within the system or environment may guess passwords to attempt access to accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1110.003 Password Spraying Credential Access
Adversaries may use a single or small list of commonly used passwords against many different accounts to attempt to acquire valid account credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1133 External Remote Services Persistence
Adversaries may leverage external-facing remote services to initially access and/or persist within a network.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-0205Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2026-0206Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2024-40766Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2023-1101Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2023-41713Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2026-0400Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2700
CVE-2023-41712Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2023-39276Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2023-39279Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650
CVE-2023-39277Same product: Sonicwall Nsa 2650

Affected Assets

sonicwall
sonicos
≤ 6.5.5.2-28n · 7.0.0.0 — 7.0.1-5169 · 7.1.1-7040 — 7.3.2-7010

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 15 hardening rules · 7 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V7.6.1
  • V6.3.6
  • V6.4.2
  • V6.4.4

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

IA-12 Identity Proofing good match

Requires identity proofing at appropriate assurance levels before granting accounts, directly addressing insufficient proof of identity.

IA-2 Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users) good match

Directly mandates unique identification and authentication of users before access to functions requiring identity.

IA-3 Device Identification and Authentication good match

Requires device identification and authentication before establishing connections.

IA-8 Identification and Authentication (Non-organizational Users) good match

Extends the same authentication requirement to non-organizational users accessing critical functionality.

IA-9 Service Identification and Authentication good match

Requires authentication of services before they can invoke or expose critical functions.

AC-14 Permitted Actions Without Identification or Authentication good match

Explicitly identifies and limits actions permitted without authentication, preventing critical functions from being exposed.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-03 full match
prevents

Directly requires authentication of users/services/hardware, which eliminates missing authentication for critical functions.

PR.AA-02 mostly match
prevents

Identity proofing and binding is a core prerequisite for non-weak authentication.

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

Managing identities and credentials is a prerequisite for authentication but does not itself enforce it on critical functions.

PR.AA-05 partial match
prevents

Defining and enforcing authorizations assumes prior authentication and therefore only partially mitigates the absence of authentication.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Protecting networks from unauthorized access can be undermined by missing authentication but does not address the root authentication gap.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.5 Secure authentication full match
prevents

The control explicitly calls for authentication before any critical function is reached, eliminating the possibility of bypassing authentication for high-value operations.

A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
prevents

Strong-password and non-reuse requirements raise the bar against weak single-factor authentication that can be exploited via guessing or credential stuffing.

A.5.8 Information security in project management partial match
prevents

Mandating authentication requirements for critical functions at the requirements-gathering stage ensures that essential operations are not left unprotected by missing login or verification mechanisms.

A.8.21 Security of network services partial match
mitigates

Mandating authentication for network services and critical functions stops attackers from invoking sensitive operations without credentials, closing gaps where authentication is absent for important capabilities.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Security engineering principles insist on authentication and authorization for every critical function, eliminating entry points that lack any access control mechanism.

A.6.7 Remote working none match
none

Requiring strong authentication and access-privilege enablement for remote connections ensures that critical functions cannot be invoked without proper verification, closing a gap that would otherwise allow unauthenticated use.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248585 OL 8 must require reauthentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306
  • V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-1390, CWE-306
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
  • V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-1390, CWE-306
  • V-237635 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must require re-authentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306
RHEL 8 (2 rules)
  • V-230492 RHEL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. prevents CWE-1390, CWE-306
  • V-237643 RHEL 8 must require re-authentication when using the "sudo" command. prevents CWE-306
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
  • V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-1390
Windows 10 (1 rule)
  • V-220865 The Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service must not use Basic authentication. prevents CWE-1390
Windows 11 (1 rule)
  • V-253418 The Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service must not use Basic authentication. prevents CWE-1390

References