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FortiwebApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2021-36175

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.2.4 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 neutralization of input vulnerability [CWE-79] in FortiWebManager versions 6.2.3 and below, 6.0.2 and below may allow a remote authenticated attacker to inject malicious script/tags via the name/description/comments parameter of various sections of the device.

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

This is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability (CWE-79) in FortiWebManager where the name/description/comments parameters across various sections fail to properly sanitize user input, allowing authenticated attackers to inject malicious script tags that execute in other users' browsers.

MitigationApply vendor patches for FortiWebManager 6.2.4 and 6.0.3 or later. Until patching is possible, implement output encoding for all user-supplied data displayed in these fields and consider restricting input length to reduce attack surface.

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:>= 6.0.0, < 6.2.4

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm FortiWeb/FortiWebManager is deployed
    Identify FortiWeb web interface or installation by checking the application's login page, SSL certificate, or running network services on ports typically used by FortiWeb (80/443 HTTP/HTTPS).
    Affected if The target system is running FortiWeb or FortiWebManager web interface.
  2. Identify installed FortiWeb version
    Log into FortiWeb web UI and navigate to System > Status or use CLI command 'get system status' to retrieve the firmware version number.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within range >= 6.0.0 and < 6.2.4.
  3. Verify user access to vulnerable input fields
    Navigate to sections containing name/description/comments parameters (such as policy configuration, server profiles, or object definitions) to confirm these fields are accessible to authenticated users.
    Affected if User has write access to any of these input fields in the FortiWeb interface.
  4. Review application logs for suspicious input
    Check FortiWeb logs (System > Log Access > Event) for entries containing script tags or unusual HTML characters in name, description, or comments fields.
    Affected if Logs show unexpected HTML/script content in these parameter fields.

A user is affected if FortiWeb or FortiWebManager version is 6.0.0 or higher but below 6.2.4, and the application allows authenticated users to input data into name/description/comments fields.

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 or later
Fixed in 6.2.4
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches for FortiWebManager 6.2.4 and 6.0.3 or later. Until patching is possible, implement output encoding for all user-supplied data displayed in these fields and consider restricting input length to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiWeb 6.2.4 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiWeb version by navigating to System > Firmware or using the CLI command 'get system status'
  2. 2. Download the FortiWeb firmware version 6.2.4 or later from the Fortinet Customer Support portal (https://support.fortinet.com)
  3. 3. Upload the firmware file through the FortiWeb web UI (System > Firmware) or via CLI using the 'execute system firmware upgrade' command
  4. 4. After upgrading, verify the new version using 'get system status' and confirm the vulnerability is resolved
  5. 5. Test the affected parameters (name/description/comments fields) to ensure proper input handling is working
Caveat Review FortiWeb 6.2.4 release notes for any configuration or feature changes that may require adjustment

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

Fix this in Fortiweb Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2021-36175 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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