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FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2015-7361

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
FortiOS 5.2.3, when configured to use High Availability (HA) and the dedicated management interface is enabled, does not require authentication for access to the ZebOS shell on the HA dedicated management interface, which allows remote attackers to obtain shell access via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

FortiOS 5.2.3 with High Availability enabled and the dedicated management interface turned on contains an authentication bypass flaw. The HA-dedicated management interface permits unauthenticated access to the ZebOS shell, enabling remote attackers to execute commands without credentials.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to a patched version. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict network access to the HA management interface via ACLs or disable it if unused, and audit the HA configuration for any unauthorized changes.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FortiosOperating system
Affected:= 5.2.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check FortiOS version
    Run 'get system status' or 'diagnose sys firmware list' from CLI to confirm the installed FortiOS version
    Affected if Version is exactly 5.2.3 (other versions are not affected by this specific CVE)
  2. Verify High Availability is enabled
    Run 'get system ha status' or 'show system ha' from CLI to check if HA mode is configured
    Affected if HA is enabled and the system is in a cluster configuration
  3. Confirm dedicated management interface is configured
    Run 'show system interface' or check the HA settings to see if a dedicated management interface (mgmt1/mgmt2) is enabled for HA
    Affected if A dedicated management interface is specifically configured for HA use
  4. Check if HA management interface is network-accessible
    Verify the IP address assigned to the HA management interface and attempt to reach it from an untrusted network segment
    Affected if The HA management interface is reachable from networks where untrusted users exist

You are affected only if FortiOS is exactly version 5.2.3, HA is enabled, AND a dedicated management interface is configured for HA access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to a patched version. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict network access to the HA management interface via ACLs or disable it if unused, and audit the HA configuration for any unauthorized changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FortiOS 5.2.4 or later (recommended: latest stable 5.4.x or 6.x release)

  1. 1. Verify the current FortiOS version by running: get system status
  2. 2. Confirm HA is configured and dedicated management interface is enabled: diagnose system ha status
  3. 3. If running exactly version 5.2.3, plan for upgrade to a patched release
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  5. 5. Back up current FortiOS configuration
  6. 6. Upgrade FortiOS to a version higher than 5.2.3 (5.2.4 or later, preferably latest stable 5.4.x or 6.x)
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the HA configuration still functions correctly
  8. 8. Test that authentication is now properly required for the dedicated management interface
Caveat Review FortiOS release notes for any configuration changes between 5.2.3 and target version; some HA features may behave differently in newer versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fortios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-7361 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data