FortiportalApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2021-32602
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 improper neutralization of input during web page generation vulnerability (CWE-79) in FortiPortal GUI 6.0.4 and below, 5.3.6 and below, 5.2.6 and below, 5.1.2 and below, 5.0.3 and below, 4.2.2 and below, 4.1.2 and below, 4.0.4 and below may allow a remote and unauthenticated attacker to perform an XSS attack via sending a crafted request with an invalid lang parameter or with an invalid org.springframework.web.servlet.i18n.CookieLocaleResolver.LOCALE value.
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 confidenceA reflected XSS vulnerability in FortiPortal GUI allows remote unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious JavaScript via the lang parameter or CookieLocaleResolver.LOCALE value. The input is not properly sanitized before being reflected back in the web page response.
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
>= 4.0.0, <= 4.0.4>= 4.1.0, <= 4.1.2>= 4.2.0, <= 4.2.2>= 5.0.0, <= 5.0.3>= 5.1.0, <= 5.1.2>= 5.2.0, <= 5.2.6>= 5.3.0, <= 5.3.6>= 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
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/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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Identify if FortiPortal is installedCheck for FortiPortal web service listening on common ports (443, 8443) or look for process 'fortiportal' running on the systemAffected if FortiPortal service is found running on the system
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Determine installed FortiPortal versionAccess the FortiPortal GUI login page and check the footer for version info, or run CLI command: 'fortiportal -v' or check /opt/fortiportal/version file if accessibleAffected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: 4.0.0-4.0.4, 4.1.0-4.1.2, 4.2.0-4.2.2, 5.0.0-5.0.3, 5.1.0-5.1.2, 5.2.0-5.2.6, 5.3.0-5.3.6, or 6.0.0-6.0.4
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Check if FortiPortal GUI is network-accessibleVerify if the FortiPortal web interface is exposed to unauthenticated network access by attempting to reach the login page from an untrusted network segmentAffected if GUI is accessible from untrusted networks without authentication restrictions
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Test lang parameter for XSS reflectionSend an HTTP request to the FortiPortal GUI with a crafted lang parameter value containing a test XSS payload (e.g., '?lang=<script>alert(1)</script>') and inspect the response to see if the script tag is reflected unsanitizedAffected if The lang parameter value is reflected in the response without proper HTML encoding
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Test CookieLocaleResolver.LOCALE cookie for XSS reflectionSend an HTTP request with a malicious CookieLocaleResolver.LOCALE cookie value (e.g., '<script>alert(1)</script>') and inspect if it is reflected unsanitized in the responseAffected if The CookieLocaleResolver.LOCALE cookie value is reflected in the response without proper HTML encoding
A user is affected if FortiPortal is running with a version in the affected ranges AND the GUI is network-accessible to unauthenticated attackers, allowing injection of unsanitized JavaScript via the lang parameter or locale cookie.
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 · scopedUpgrade FortiPortal to version 6.0.5, 5.3.7, 5.2.7, 5.1.3, 5.0.4, 4.2.3, 4.1.3, or 4.0.5 or later per the vendor advisory. As a temporary measure, restrict network access to the FortiPortal GUI to trusted sources.
FortiPortal 4.0.5+, 4.1.3+, 4.2.3+, 5.0.4+, or latest stable release (6.0.5+ if available)
- 1. Identify the current FortiPortal version in use by checking the system administration interface or using the CLI command: get system status
- 2. Based on the version branch, upgrade to the appropriate fixed release: For 4.0.x branch, upgrade to 4.0.5 or later; For 4.1.x branch, upgrade to 4.1.3 or later; For 4.2.x branch, upgrade to 4.2.3 or later; For 5.0.x branch, upgrade to 5.0.4 or later
- 3. Download the upgrade package from Fortinet's support portal (support.fortinet.com) or FortiGuard
- 4. Back up the current FortiPortal configuration before performing the upgrade
- 5. Apply the upgrade following Fortinet's standard upgrade procedure documented in the FortiPortal Administration Guide
- 6. After upgrade, verify the installation by checking the version: get system status
- 7. Test that the lang parameter and LOCALE cookie handling no longer reflect untrusted input without proper sanitization
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Fortiportal
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-32602 — 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-2021-32602 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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