FortiwebApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2020-15942
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 information disclosure vulnerability in Web Vulnerability Scan profile of Fortinet's FortiWeb version 6.2.x below 6.2.4 and version 6.3.x below 6.3.5 may allow a remote authenticated attacker to read the password used by the FortiWeb scanner to access the device defined in the scan profile.
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 confidenceAn authenticated attacker with access to FortiWeb's Web Vulnerability Scan profile configuration can read plaintext scanner passwords in FortiWeb versions 6.2.x below 6.2.4 and 6.3.x below 6.3.5. This exposes credentials used by FortiWeb to authenticate against target devices during vulnerability scanning.
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
FortiwebApplication
>= 6.2.0, <= 6.2.3>= 6.3.0, <= 6.3.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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.
-
Identify FortiWeb versionRun the command 'get system status' in FortiWeb CLI or check System > FortiView in the web UI to view the running firmware version.Affected if Version falls within 6.2.0 to 6.2.3 or 6.3.0 to 6.3.4.
-
Confirm WVS feature is in useNavigate to Web Vulnerability Scan > Scan Profile in the FortiWeb GUI or run 'diagnose sys wvs profile list' in CLI to list configured scan profiles.Affected if Any scan profiles exist in the configuration.
-
Inspect scanner credential configurationOpen each WVS scan profile and examine the Scanner Settings section, specifically the 'Target Credentials' or authentication configuration fields where credentials for target devices are stored.Affected if Scanner credentials (usernames and passwords) are visible in plaintext within the profile configuration.
-
Check configuration exportExport the WVS profile configuration using 'diagnose sys config export' or backup the configuration and search the resulting file for plaintext passwords associated with WVS scanner settings.Affected if The configuration file contains plaintext passwords in fields related to WVS scanner credentials.
You are affected if your FortiWeb version is 6.2.0-6.2.3 or 6.3.0-6.3.4 AND you have configured Web Vulnerability Scan profiles containing scanner credentials.
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 FortiWeb to version 6.2.4 or 6.3.5 or later. Until patched, limit administrative access to trusted users only and audit access to scan profile configurations.
Fix this in Fortiweb
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15942 — 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-2020-15942 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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