FortimailApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2017-3125
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 · uneditedAn unauthenticated XSS vulnerability with FortiMail 5.0.0 - 5.2.9 and 5.3.0 - 5.3.8 could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary scripts in the security context of the browser of a victim logged in FortiMail, assuming the victim is social engineered into clicking an URL crafted by the attacker.
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 confidenceUnauthenticated cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in FortiMail versions 5.0.0-5.2.9 and 5.3.0-5.3.8 allows remote attackers to inject malicious JavaScript through a crafted URL that executes in the browser context of an authenticated victim who is socially engineered into clicking the link.
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
FortimailApplication
= 5.0= 5.0.5= 5.0.6= 5.0.7= 5.0.8= 5.0.9= 5.0.10= 5.1= 5.1.2= 5.1.3= 5.1.5= 5.1.6CVSS 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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Confirm FortiMail is deployedIdentify FortiMail appliances in your environment by checking network assets for FortiMail web interface (typically port 443/80) or by running 'get system status' via CLI on known FortiMail devicesAffected if FortiMail is not present in the environment, the vulnerability does not apply
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Determine installed FortiMail versionLog into the FortiMail web GUI and navigate to Dashboard > Status, or run 'get system status' via CLI to retrieve the Firmware Version fieldAffected if The displayed version falls within 5.0.0-5.2.9 or 5.3.0-5.3.8 (or matches any of these: 5.0, 5.0.5, 5.0.6, 5.0.7, 5.0.8, 5.0.9, 5.0.10, 5.1, 5.1.2, 5.1.3, 5.1.5, 5.1.6)
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Verify web interface is accessibleAttempt to reach the FortiMail web GUI URL (e.g., https://<fortimail-host>/) from a browser or curl command to confirm the interface is exposedAffected if The web interface is not accessible, exploitation through crafted URLs is not possible
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Confirm authentication is required for web GUICheck the FortiMail configuration via CLI with 'get system interface' or review web UI access settings to verify that user authentication is enabled for the administrative interfaceAffected if The vulnerability requires an authenticated victim; if authentication is disabled or bypassed, the specific attack chain differs
Your environment is affected if FortiMail is deployed, the web interface is accessible, and the installed version falls within 5.0.0-5.2.9 or 5.3.0-5.3.8, making users who authenticate to the web GUI potential targets for the XSS.
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 FortiMail to version 5.2.10, 5.3.9, or later to remediate this vulnerability. As a compensating control, user awareness training to avoid clicking untrusted links can reduce exploit success.
Fix this in Fortimail
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3125 — 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-2017-3125 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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