At ADS, we believe in learning from every challenge—and sharing those lessons to help our clients stay ahead. This week’s tip is about a serious firmware issue we encountered with SonicWall NSA Gen 7 firewalls running firmware version 7.1.2.
If you have a Sonicwall Gen7 Firewall, DO NOT install firmware 7.1.2. This version can randomly fail, as verified by support. The failures occur more frequently when upgrading from a previous version of the firmware. The latest version of the Gen7 firewall is 7.1.3.7015 as of 4/13/2025.
What Happened
One of our clients attempted to upgrade their SonicWall NSA Gen 7 firewall to firmware version 7.1.2 on a high availability (HA) pair. Their internal IT staff followed standard procedures, but the firmware upgrade resulted in a catastrophic failure. The HA setup broke completely, triggering a late-night emergency and a support call with SonicWall that lasted until 5 AM.
Even after recovering the system, we found that enabling the HA pair with 7.1.2 caused the failure again. SonicWall support confirmed that this version of the firmware has known issues under certain conditions.
What Causes It?
While not every device is affected, we’ve noticed a pattern:
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Firewalls with imported configurations from older-generation SonicWalls
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Firewalls with complex or highly customized setups
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Devices running in high availability mode (HA)
These scenarios appear to be more susceptible to the issues with 7.1.2.
Our Recommendation
If you're running a SonicWall NSA Gen 7 firewall and you're considering a firmware upgrade to version 7.1.2:
- Perform the upgrade after hours
- Get a full configuration and system backup first
- Schedule the upgrade on a Friday evening, giving you the weekend to recover in case of failure
- Have a rollback plan in place
We’ve also seen some clients upgrade to 7.1.2 without issue, but when it goes wrong, it goes very wrong.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t meant to discourage you from upgrading your firewall—it’s a reminder that even routine updates can introduce risk if not carefully planned. Firmware updates should always be treated as critical infrastructure changes, especially when HA is involved.
If you're unsure about whether it's safe to upgrade your firewall—or if you'd like our team to assess your setup—reach out before leaping. Let our pain save you a weekend of stress.
🔒 Need help with a SonicWall upgrade? Email Us: info@adscon.com