SonicWall has recently disclosed multiple high-severity vulnerabilities affecting its Secure Mobile Access (SMA) 100 series products. These vulnerabilities, identified as CVE-2025-32819, CVE-2025-32820, and CVE-2025-32821, have been discovered by security researchers from Rapid7. When exploited in combination, these flaws can lead to complete system compromise, granting attackers root-level access. The affected devices include SMA 200, 210, 400, 410, and 500v appliances running firmware version 10.2.1.14-75sv and earlier.
Detailed Analysis of the Vulnerabilities:
1. CVE-2025-32819: Arbitrary File Deletion Leading to Factory Reset
This vulnerability allows a remote authenticated attacker with SSLVPN user privileges to bypass path traversal checks and delete arbitrary files on the system. Exploiting this flaw can result in the device rebooting to factory default settings, effectively causing a denial of service. This vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 8.8, indicating a high severity level. It is associated with CWE-552, which pertains to files or directories accessible to external parties.
2. CVE-2025-32820: Path Traversal Enabling System Directory Modification
An authenticated attacker with SSLVPN user privileges can exploit this vulnerability to inject a path traversal sequence, making any directory on the SMA appliance writable. This could allow the attacker to modify critical system files or configurations. The CVSS score for this vulnerability is 8.3, also categorized as high severity. It corresponds to CWE-22, which involves improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory, commonly known as path traversal.
3. CVE-2025-32821: Remote Command Injection Through File Upload
This vulnerability permits a remote authenticated attacker with SSLVPN admin privileges to inject shell command arguments during the file upload process. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can execute arbitrary commands on the appliance, potentially leading to full system control. This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 6.7, indicating a medium severity level, and is related to CWE-78, which involves improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command, commonly known as OS command injection.
Potential Impact and Exploitation Chain:
According to Rapid7’s research, these vulnerabilities can be chained together to achieve root-level remote code execution. An attacker with low-privilege access can exploit CVE-2025-32819 to delete critical files and elevate privileges to administrator. Subsequently, they can use CVE-2025-32820 to make system directories writable and finally leverage CVE-2025-32821 to write an executable file that the system would automatically execute with root privileges. This exploitation chain results in complete system compromise, allowing attackers to gain persistent access to the appliance.
Mitigation Measures:
SonicWall has released firmware version 10.2.1.15-81sv to address these vulnerabilities and strongly advises all users of affected SMA 100 series products to update immediately. The company’s security advisory confirms that SMA 1000 series products are not affected by these vulnerabilities.
For organizations unable to update immediately, SonicWall recommends implementing the following workarounds:
– Enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA): Adding an extra layer of security can help protect against unauthorized access, even if credentials are compromised.
– Activate Web Application Firewall (WAF): Enabling WAF functionality on SMA 100 devices can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts.
– Reset User Passwords: It’s advisable to reset passwords for any users who have logged into the device via the web interface to ensure that compromised credentials are rendered useless.
Historical Context and Ongoing Threats:
This is not the first time SonicWall’s SMA 100 series has been found vulnerable. In previous instances, vulnerabilities such as CVE-2021-20016, a critical SQL injection flaw, and CVE-2021-20038, an unauthenticated stack-based buffer overflow, have been exploited by threat actors. These incidents underscore the importance of timely patching and vigilant security practices.
Organizations using SonicWall SMA 100 series appliances should prioritize this update, as Rapid7 has indicated observations of private indicators of compromise suggesting that CVE-2025-32819 may have already been exploited in the wild.
Conclusion:
The discovery of these critical vulnerabilities in SonicWall’s SMA 100 series devices highlights the ever-present risks in network security appliances. Organizations must remain proactive by applying patches promptly, implementing recommended security measures, and continuously monitoring their systems for signs of compromise. By doing so, they can mitigate the risks associated with these vulnerabilities and protect their networks from potential attacks.
