# CVE-2024-40766: SonicWall SonicOS Improper Access Control

> Attackers can access unauthorized resources or crash SonicWall firewalls due to improper access control in management interfaces.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 9 Sep 2024 (CISA KEV), used in ransomware
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 23 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8736-pr6r-r9hr

## What is CVE-2024-40766?

CVE-2024-40766 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Sonicwall Sonicos, published on 23 Aug 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An improper access control vulnerability has been identified in the SonicWall SonicOS management access, potentially leading to unauthorized resource access and in specific conditions, causing the firewall to crash. This issue affects SonicWall Firewall Gen 5 and Gen 6 devices, as well as Gen 7 devices running SonicOS 7.0.1-5035 and older versions.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-40766?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Sonicwall Sonicos.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-40766?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-40766 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 30 Sep 2024.

## Is CVE-2024-40766 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2024-40766 in the wild since at least 9 Sep 2024, including in ransomware campaigns.

## Other vulnerabilities in Sonicwall Sonicos

- [CVE-2020-5135](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5135/): SonicWall SonicOS Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-53704](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-53704/): SonicWall SonicOS SSLVPN Improper Authentication (high 8.2, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-40600](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40600/): Denial of service in SonicOS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2024-22394](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22394/): Auth bypass in SonicOS (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-22274](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22274/): Memory corruption in SonicOS (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-40766 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-40766 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Sonicwall Sonicos, published on 23 Aug 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2024-40766 in the wild since at least 9 Sep 2024, including in ransomware campaigns.

Affected product: Sonicwall Sonicos. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-40766/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-40766/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-40766
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-40766
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-40766

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-40766/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.