Critical SonicWall Flaws Open Door to Root Access: Urgent Patch Alert for SMA Devices

A wake-up call for enterprise security: SonicWall vulnerabilities exploited in the wild could grant hackers full control over your network.

Cybersecurity firm SonicWall has issued an urgent call to action for organizations using its Secure Mobile Access (SMA) appliances. A set of three newly discovered and dangerous vulnerabilities—at least one of which is being actively exploited—could allow remote attackers to completely compromise affected systems. These flaws, discovered by Rapid7 researcher Ryan Emmons, impact the SMA 100 series, including popular models like SMA 200, 210, 400, 410, and 500v.

The vulnerabilities—CVE-2025-32819, CVE-2025-32820, and CVE-2025-32821—can be chained together to allow threat actors to escalate privileges, gain admin access, and execute arbitrary code as root. This gives them full control over compromised devices. If you’re using affected firmware, SonicWall urges immediate upgrades to version 10.2.1.15-81sv or higher to mitigate the threat.

Threat Summary: What You Need to Know

Three critical flaws in SonicWall SMA appliances have been identified: CVE-2025-32819, CVE-2025-32820, and CVE-2025-32821.

The vulnerabilities were discovered by

Attackers can chain the flaws to gain remote root-level access, making full system compromise possible.
CVE-2025-32819 enables deletion of the device’s main SQLite database and resetting the default admin password.
Once access is gained, CVE-2025-32820 allows attackers to make protected directories like /bin writable via path traversal.
Finally, CVE-2025-32821 lets attackers write and execute malicious files as root—achieving full control over the system.
The flaws are addressed in firmware version 10.2.1.15-81sv and later—upgrading is critical.
SonicWall also advises enabling Web Application Firewall (WAF) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for added security.
Rapid7 suggests that these flaws may have already been used in the wild, based on incident data and known indicators of compromise (IOCs).
This disclosure follows a recent string of other serious exploits involving SonicWall, including CVE-2023-44221 and CVE-2024-38475.
The company previously dealt with CVE-2021-20035 and a zero-day in the SMA1000 series, both of which were actively exploited.
In early 2025, a separate authentication bypass flaw also affected Gen 6 and Gen 7 firewalls—allowing hijacking of VPN sessions.

What Undercode Say:

This security bulletin isn’t just another routine patch notification—it reflects an urgent and deepening crisis in enterprise network security infrastructure. SonicWall’s SMA appliances are widely deployed in large organizations, including financial institutions and government networks. The fact that attackers can chain multiple vulnerabilities to gain root access raises major red flags.

The attack sequence is disturbingly straightforward for seasoned adversaries. By deleting the SQLite database and resetting admin credentials, threat actors gain privileged access without detection. The path traversal vulnerability then opens up the system’s directory structure, enabling the attacker to tamper with protected areas such as /bin. Finally, by dropping executable payloads into these areas, root-level code execution becomes trivial.

What’s particularly troubling is

Adding to the gravity, this disclosure comes amid a flurry of SonicWall vulnerabilities—some of which have been under active exploitation since January 2025. When multiple high-severity bugs are discovered within a short period, especially with confirmed exploitation, it points to a systemic issue—possibly flawed architectural design or insufficient security auditing in SonicWall’s development lifecycle.

The mitigation strategy SonicWall recommends is sound: apply the firmware update immediately and implement layered defenses like WAF and MFA. However, the question remains—how many organizations have already been compromised but remain unaware?

These types of exploits could also be used in more targeted campaigns, such as ransomware deployment or espionage operations. Given the administrative access obtained, attackers could exfiltrate sensitive data, install persistent backdoors, or pivot to internal systems.

This incident also raises broader concerns about third-party appliance trust. As remote work continues to thrive, VPN gateways and secure access appliances are becoming prime targets. If vendors don’t address security proactively, they leave a massive gap in the security perimeter.

Ultimately, SonicWall’s quick response with a firmware update is commendable—but this breach of trust may linger. CISOs and IT leaders need to reassess not just their patching cadence but also their long-term vendor dependencies and threat modeling strategies.

Fact Checker Results:

The vulnerabilities CVE-2025-32819, CVE-2025-32820, and CVE-2025-32821 are officially registered and confirmed by Rapid7.
At least one of the flaws is confirmed to be exploited in the wild, according to incident response data.
Firmware version 10.2.1.15-81sv has been verified as containing the necessary patches.

Prediction:

Based on the trend of recent SonicWall vulnerabilities and the increasing sophistication of threat actors, we expect a rise in targeted attacks against organizations that delay patching. These vulnerabilities are likely to be integrated into automated exploit kits and scanning tools, expanding their reach. If organizations fail to act quickly, we may see widespread lateral movement and advanced persistent threats (APTs) leveraging compromised SMA devices in high-value environments. Expect to see more coordinated advisories and possibly even regulatory pressure to enforce timely patch management across critical infrastructure.