CVE-2026-62145 Overview
CVE-2026-62145 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Check Point Gaia Portal. An authenticated attacker holding read-only Gaia Portal privileges can execute commands with root privileges. The flaw is classified under [CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management].
The vulnerability requires network access and valid low-privileged credentials but no user interaction. Successful exploitation compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected appliance. Because Gaia is the underlying operating system for Check Point security gateways and management servers, root-level access grants full control over network security enforcement.
Critical Impact
A low-privileged, read-only Gaia Portal user can escalate to root and take full control of the affected Check Point appliance, undermining perimeter and management security controls.
Affected Products
- Check Point Gaia Portal
- Check Point security gateways running Gaia OS
- Check Point management servers running Gaia OS
Discovery Timeline
- 2026-07-22 - CVE-2026-62145 published to NVD
- 2026-07-22 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2026-62145
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the Gaia Portal, the web-based administration interface for Check Point Gaia OS. Gaia Portal enforces role-based access control (RBAC) to separate read-only monitoring users from administrators authorized to change configuration. This vulnerability breaks that separation.
An attacker authenticated with a read-only Gaia Portal role can invoke functionality that executes operating system commands as root. The read-only role is intended only for viewing configuration and status, not for state-changing operations. Because the resulting command executes with the highest privilege level on the appliance, the attacker gains complete control of the security device.
The issue is mapped to [CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management], indicating the application fails to correctly enforce privilege boundaries between roles when handling privileged operations.
Root Cause
The root cause is improper privilege management in one or more Gaia Portal endpoints. The affected code paths do not verify that the invoking user holds a role authorized for privileged execution before dispatching commands to a root-owned backend process. Check Point has not publicly detailed the specific components. Refer to the Check Point Security Advisory sk185153 for vendor-specific technical information.
Attack Vector
Exploitation is remote over the network against the Gaia Portal HTTPS management interface. The attacker must first obtain valid credentials for a Gaia Portal account with read-only privileges. High attack complexity indicates that additional conditions beyond authentication must be met, such as specific request sequences or timing. No user interaction is required.
Once exploited, the attacker executes arbitrary commands as root, enabling firewall rule modification, credential theft from local stores, traffic interception, log deletion, and persistence on the appliance.
No public proof-of-concept exploit is available, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Detection Methods for CVE-2026-62145
Indicators of Compromise
- Gaia Portal audit log entries showing configuration changes or command executions initiated by users assigned a read-only role.
- Unexpected root shell activity or process spawns correlated with Gaia Portal HTTPS sessions.
- New or modified administrator accounts, SSH keys under /home/admin/.ssh/, or entries in /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow that do not match change management records.
Detection Strategies
- Correlate Gaia Portal web session logs with system-level command execution logs to detect privilege boundary violations where a read-only session triggers privileged operations.
- Enable and forward Gaia audit logs to a SIEM and alert on any state-changing action performed by accounts with read-only role assignments.
- Monitor for authentication events from unexpected source IP addresses against the Gaia Portal management interface.
Monitoring Recommendations
- Forward Gaia OS syslog, /var/log/messages, and Gaia Portal audit trails to a centralized logging platform for retention and analysis.
- Baseline normal read-only user behavior and alert on deviations such as POST requests to configuration endpoints from those accounts.
- Review authentication logs regularly for brute-force or credential-stuffing activity against management interfaces.
How to Mitigate CVE-2026-62145
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the security hotfix referenced in Check Point Security Advisory sk185153 to all affected Gaia gateways and management servers.
- Restrict Gaia Portal access to a dedicated management network and block exposure to untrusted networks or the internet.
- Audit all Gaia Portal accounts, remove unused read-only users, and rotate credentials for accounts that may have been exposed.
- Enforce multi-factor authentication for all Gaia Portal accounts, including read-only roles.
Patch Information
Check Point has published remediation guidance under knowledge base article sk185153. Administrators should consult the Check Point Security Advisory sk185153 for the list of affected versions, fixed builds, and hotfix installation instructions.
Workarounds
- Limit Gaia Portal reachability to a small allow-list of administrator source IPs at the network layer until the hotfix is installed.
- Temporarily disable or reduce the number of read-only Gaia Portal accounts to shrink the attack surface.
- Increase log retention and monitoring on the Gaia Portal interface to accelerate detection of exploitation attempts prior to patching.
# Configuration example: restrict Gaia Portal to a management subnet
# Run from Gaia clish
set web ssl-port 443
set web session-timeout 10
add allowed-client host ipv4-address 10.10.0.0 mask-length 24
save config
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
