FortiwanApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2016-4969
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 · uneditedCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Fortinet FortiWan (formerly AscernLink) before 4.2.5 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the IP parameter to script/statistics/getconn.php.
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 confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Fortinet FortiWan allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the IP parameter to the script/statistics/getconn.php endpoint. This is a reflected XSS vulnerability affecting versions before 4.2.5.
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
FortiwanApplication
<= 4.2.4CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if FortiWAN is installedReview your environment for the presence of Fortinet FortiWAN web application. Check network scans or installed software inventories for FortiWAN or FortiWeb products.Affected if FortiWAN is found in the environment
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Determine the installed FortiWAN versionAccess the FortiWAN admin interface or check system files for the software version. Look for version information in the web UI (typically in System > Firmware or About section) or via CLI if available.Affected if The installed version is 4.2.4 or earlier
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Verify the vulnerable endpoint is accessibleAttempt to access the /script/statistics/getconn.php endpoint on the FortiWAN host via HTTP/HTTPS. This may require authentication depending on the deployment.Affected if The endpoint responds and is reachable over the network
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Test if the IP parameter accepts unsanitized inputSend a crafted request to the getconn.php endpoint with a test XSS payload in the IP parameter (for example: ?IP=<script>alert(1)</script>). Observe whether the payload is reflected back in the response without encoding.Affected if The IP parameter reflects the unsanitized input in the response, confirming the XSS vulnerability
A user is affected if FortiWAN version 4.2.4 or earlier is installed and the /script/statistics/getconn.php endpoint is accessible with the IP parameter reflecting unsanitized input.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataUpgrade to FortiWAN version 4.2.5 or later to obtain the vendor patch. Alternatively, implement input validation and output encoding on the IP parameter or deploy a WAF rule to filter malicious XSS payloads.
Fix this in Fortiwan
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4969 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-4969 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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