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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022. Known ransomware use
FortiproxyApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2018-13379

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-06-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.2.9 / 5.4.13 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS 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
An Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ("Path Traversal") in Fortinet FortiOS 6.0.0 to 6.0.4, 5.6.3 to 5.6.7 and 5.4.6 to 5.4.12 and FortiProxy 2.0.0, 1.2.0 to 1.2.8, 1.1.0 to 1.1.6, 1.0.0 to 1.0.7 under SSL VPN web portal allows an unauthenticated attacker to download system files via special crafted HTTP resource requests.

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

A path traversal vulnerability in FortiOS and FortiProxy SSL VPN web portal allows unauthenticated attackers to download arbitrary system files by crafting malicious HTTP resource requests. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of both products and is exploitable without any authentication.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to version 6.0.5 or later (or 5.6.8+/5.4.13+), and FortiProxy to version 1.2.9 or later (or 2.0.1+), or apply available interim patches. Disable SSL VPN web portal if not needed as a temporary workaround.

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
FortiproxyApplication
Affected:< 1.2.9= 2.0.0
FortiosOperating system
Affected:>= 5.4.6, < 5.4.13>= 5.6.3, < 5.6.8>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.5

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 Fortinet product and version
    Run 'get system status' via CLI or check System > Firmware in web UI to find the exact version number
    Affected if Version matches FortiOS 5.4.6-5.4.12, 5.6.3-5.6.7, 6.0.0-6.0.4 or FortiProxy 1.0.0-1.0.7, 1.1.0-1.1.6, 1.2.0-1.2.8, or 2.0.0
  2. Confirm product type is FortiOS or FortiProxy
    The 'get system status' output shows the product name under 'FortiGate' or 'FortiProxy'
    Affected if Product is FortiOS or FortiProxy and version is in the affected ranges
  3. Check if SSL VPN web portal is enabled
    Run 'get vpn ssl settings' via CLI or go to VPN > SSL-VPN Settings in web UI to verify SSL VPN is configured and enabled
    Affected if SSL VPN web portal is enabled on the device
  4. Verify SSL VPN is accessible from untrusted networks
    Review interface bindings in SSL VPN settings - check if 'Listen on Interface' includes wan/outside interfaces or0/0
    Affected if SSL VPN is bound to interfaces accessible from the internet or untrusted networks

System is affected if it runs a vulnerable FortiOS or FortiProxy version AND has SSL VPN web portal enabled and accessible from untrusted networks.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.2.9 / 5.4.13 / 5.6.8 or later
Fixed in 1.2.95.4.135.6.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to version 6.0.5 or later (or 5.6.8+/5.4.13+), and FortiProxy to version 1.2.9 or later (or 2.0.1+), or apply available interim patches. Disable SSL VPN web portal if not needed as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiOS: 5.4.13+, 5.6.8+, 6.0.5+ | FortiProxy: 1.2.9+, 2.0.1+

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed FortiOS or FortiProxy version using the CLI command: get system status
  2. 2. For FortiOS 5.4.x users: upgrade to FortiOS 5.4.13 or later
  3. 3. For FortiOS 5.6.x users: upgrade to FortiOS 5.6.8 or later
  4. 4. For FortiOS 6.0.x users: upgrade to FortiOS 6.0.5 or later
  5. 5. For FortiProxy 1.x users: upgrade to FortiProxy 1.2.9 or later
  6. 6. For FortiProxy 2.0.0 users: upgrade to FortiProxy 2.0.1 or later
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the version is patched: get system status
  8. 8. Review SSL VPN configuration and monitor for any unauthorized access attempts
Caveat Upgrading firmware may cause temporary connectivity interruption; ensure backup of configuration before performing upgrade

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

Fix this in Fortiproxy Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2018-13379 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data