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FortiwebApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2021-22123

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.2.4 / 6.3.8 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS 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 OS command injection vulnerability in FortiWeb's management interface 6.3.7 and below, 6.2.3 and below, 6.1.x, 6.0.x, 5.9.x may allow a remote authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the system via the SAML server configuration page.

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

OS command injection vulnerability in FortiWeb's management interface allows an authenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands through the SAML server configuration page. The flaw lacks proper input sanitization on SAML parameters, enabling shell command injection via crafted requests.

MitigationApply Fortinet's patch by upgrading FortiWeb to version 6.3.8, 6.2.4, or higher. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management interface access to trusted IPs via firewall rules or VPN, and audit SAML server configurations for unauthorized changes.

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
Affected:>= 5.9.0, < 6.2.4>= 6.3.0, < 6.3.8

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:3.1/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. Verify FortiWeb version
    Access the FortiWeb management interface and navigate to System > Firmware or use the CLI command 'get system status' to retrieve the installed version number. Compare this version against the affected ranges: 5.9.0 through 6.2.3, or 6.3.0 through 6.3.7.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 5.9.0 to 6.2.3, or 6.3.0 to 6.3.7.
  2. Confirm SAML server feature is in use
    Navigate to Server Infrastructure > SAML in the FortiWeb management interface, or use the CLI command 'show system saml' to list configured SAML servers. Determine if any SAML servers are defined.
    Affected if SAML servers are configured and the FortiWeb version is within the affected ranges.
  3. Review management interface access controls
    Inspect the administrative access settings under System > Administration > Administrators or the 'config system admin' CLI settings to verify which IP addresses or networks are permitted to access the management interface.
    Affected if The management interface is accessible from untrusted networks and the FortiWeb version is within the affected ranges.
  4. Audit SAML server configuration entries
    Examine each SAML server configuration for unexpected or unauthorized parameter values, particularly in fields such as entity ID, SSO URL, or certificate settings. Use 'get system saml' CLI command to review current settings.
    Affected if SAML server configurations contain unexpected parameters or values that were not authored by trusted administrators.

A FortiWeb instance is affected if it runs version 5.9.0-6.2.3 or 6.3.0-6.3.7, has SAML server functionality configured, and the management interface is accessible to the attacker.

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 6.2.4 / 6.3.8 or later
Fixed in 6.2.46.3.8
Interim mitigation

Apply Fortinet's patch by upgrading FortiWeb to version 6.3.8, 6.2.4, or higher. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management interface access to trusted IPs via firewall rules or VPN, and audit SAML server configurations for unauthorized changes.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiWeb 6.2.4 or later for 5.9-6.2 branch; FortiWeb 6.3.8 or later for 6.3 branch

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiWeb version by navigating to System > Status in the management interface
  2. 2. If running version 5.9.x, 6.0.x, 6.1.x, or 6.2.x (before 6.2.4), plan upgrade to FortiWeb 6.2.4 or later
  3. 3. If running version 6.3.x (before 6.3.8), plan upgrade to FortiWeb 6.3.8 or later
  4. 4. Backup the FortiWeb configuration before upgrading
  5. 5. Download the appropriate firmware from Fortinet's support portal (fortinet.com/support)
  6. 6. Upload the new firmware via System > Firmware in the management interface
  7. 7. Follow Fortinet's upgrade procedure and verify the system operates normally after reboot
Caveat Review Fortinet release notes for any configuration or feature changes between versions; test in staging environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Fortiweb Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2021-22123 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