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ForticlientApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2017-14184

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.4.2334 / 5.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
An Information Disclosure vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClient for Windows 5.6.0 and below versions, FortiClient for Mac OSX 5.6.0 and below versions and FortiClient SSLVPN Client for Linux 4.4.2334 and below versions allows regular users to see each other's VPN authentication credentials due to improperly secured storage locations.

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

FortiClient for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux stores VPN authentication credentials in improperly secured storage locations accessible to regular (non-privileged) users. This allows local users to read other users' VPN credentials, exposing sensitive authentication data.

MitigationUpgrade FortiClient to versions above 5.6.0 for Windows/Mac and above 4.4.2334 for Linux to remediate the insecure credential storage. Verify that file permissions on credential storage locations restrict access to owner only.

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
ForticlientApplication
Affected:< 5.6.0
Forticlient Sslvpn ClientApplication
Affected:< 4.4.2334

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify installed FortiClient version
    On Windows, check Programs and Features or run 'reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Fortinet\FortiClient' /v Version. On Mac, check /Applications or run 'defaults read /Applications/FortiClient.app/Contents/Info CFBundleVersion'. On Linux, check the installed package version with 'dpkg -l forticlient' or 'rpm -qi forticlient'.
    Affected if The version number is below 5.6.0 for Windows/Mac or below 4.4.2334 for Linux.
  2. Locate VPN credential storage files
    Search for FortiClient configuration or credential files in common installation directories such as %APPDATA%\FortiClient, %LOCALAPPDATA%\FortiClient, /opt/forticlient, or ~/.forticlient on Linux systems.
    Affected if Credential files exist in these locations and are present on the system.
  3. Verify file permissions on credential storage
    Use file system permissions tools: on Windows, right-click the credential files, go to Properties > Security and check the permissions. On Linux/Mac, run 'ls -la' on the credential storage directory and check if other users have read permissions (permissions should not show 'r--r--r--' or similar for others).
    Affected if Non-owner users or the 'Users' group have read access (r) permissions to credential files, allowing local non-privileged users to read VPN passwords.
  4. Test access as non-privileged user
    Create a standard (non-admin) user account if one does not exist, log in as that user, and attempt to navigate to and read the FortiClient credential storage locations identified in step 2.
    Affected if A standard user can successfully read or access VPN credential files that should be restricted to the owner account only.

The environment is affected if FortiClient version is below 5.6.0 (Windows/Mac) or below 4.4.2334 (Linux) AND VPN credential storage files are readable by non-owner users.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.4.2334 / 5.6.0 or later
Fixed in 4.4.23345.6.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiClient to versions above 5.6.0 for Windows/Mac and above 4.4.2334 for Linux to remediate the insecure credential storage. Verify that file permissions on credential storage locations restrict access to owner only.

Fix this in Forticlient Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

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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-2017-14184 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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