FortiportalApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2021-32588
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 · uneditedA use of hard-coded credentials (CWE-798) vulnerability in FortiPortal versions 5.2.5 and below, 5.3.5 and below, 6.0.4 and below, versions 5.1.x and 5.0.x may allow a remote and unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized commands as root by uploading and deploying malicious web application archive files using the default hard-coded Tomcat Manager username and password.
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 confidenceFortiPortal contains hard-coded Tomcat Manager credentials that allow unauthenticated remote attackers to upload and deploy malicious web application archive files, leading to root-level command execution on the affected system.
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
FortiportalApplication
>= 5.0.0, <= 5.0.3>= 5.1.0, <= 5.1.2>= 5.2.0, <= 5.2.5>= 5.3.0, <= 5.3.5>= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.4CVSS 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm FortiPortal installation and versionLocate the FortiPortal installation directory or check the running service version. This is typically accessible via the FortiPortal admin UI, CLI, or by inspecting the installation files. Compare the found version against the affected ranges: 5.0.0-5.0.3, 5.1.0-5.1.2, 5.2.0-5.2.5, 5.3.0-5.3.5, and 6.0.0-6.0.4.Affected if The installed version falls within any of the listed affected version ranges.
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Identify if Tomcat Manager is exposedCheck the network configuration and firewall rules to determine if the Tomcat Manager interface is accessible. This typically listens on ports 8080, 8443, or other HTTP/HTTPS ports configured for the FortiPortal Tomcat instance. Review the server.xml or similar Tomcat configuration files in the FortiPortal installation to identify the manager application URL path.Affected if The Tomcat Manager interface is reachable from a network where untrusted actors have access.
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Verify Tomcat Manager access credentialsInspect the Tomcat configuration files (such as tomcat-users.xml or the Realm configuration) within the FortiPortal installation for hard-coded credentials. The vulnerability specifically involves default Tomcat Manager credentials that should not be present in production deployments.Affected if The default Tomcat Manager credentials are present in the configuration or have not been changed from factory defaults.
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Check for unauthorized WAR deploymentsReview the Tomcat webapps directory within the FortiPortal installation for any unexpected or malicious WAR files that may have been deployed. Inspect the deployment timestamps and origins of any WAR files.Affected if Unexpected WAR files exist in the webapps directory, especially those not deployed by your organization.
You are affected if FortiPortal is running a version within 5.0.0-5.0.3, 5.1.0-5.1.2, 5.2.0-5.2.5, 5.3.0-5.3.5, or 6.0.0-6.0.4 AND the Tomcat Manager interface is exposed with default or hardcoded credentials still in use.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpdate FortiPortal to a version above 6.0.4, 5.3.5, or 5.2.5 as appropriate for the deployed branch, or disable the Tomcat Manager interface and change default credentials if updating is not immediately feasible.
Upgrade to FortiPortal 5.0.4 or higher, 5.1.3 or higher, 5.2.6 or higher, 5.3.6 or higher (or the latest available 5.x/6.x stable release)
- 1. Identify the current FortiPortal version by accessing the FortiPortal admin interface or checking the system information.
- 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on the current major version (5.0.x, 5.1.x, 5.2.x, or 5.3.x).
- 3. Obtain the upgrade package from Fortinet's official support portal (https://support.fortinet.com).
- 4. Review FortiPortal upgrade documentation for prerequisites and backup procedures.
- 5. Create a complete backup of the FortiPortal configuration and database.
- 6. Schedule a maintenance window as upgrades may require downtime.
- 7. Upload the new FortiPortal version upgrade file through the FortiPortal admin interface or CLI.
- 8. Execute the upgrade following Fortinet's documented upgrade procedure.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Fortiportal
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-32588 — 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-2021-32588 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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