CVE-2026-4266
Published: 30 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-4266 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Watchguard (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 20.2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-17079
Vulnerability details
An Insecure Deserialization vulnerability in WatchGuard Fireware OS allows an attacker that has obtained write access to the local filesystem through another vulnerability to execute arbitrary code in the context of the portald user.This issue affects Fireware OS: 12.1 through…
more
12.11.8 and 2025.1 through 2026.1.2. Note, this vulnerability does not affect Firebox platforms that do not support the Access Portal feature, including the T-15 and T-35.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Insecure deserialization (CWE-502) directly enables arbitrary code execution as the portald user once filesystem write access is obtained, mapping to exploitation for privilege escalation.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.