dbcve.org
FortisiemApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2021-41023

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A unprotected storage of credentials in Fortinet FortiSIEM Windows Agent version 4.1.4 and below allows an authenticated user to disclosure agent password due to plaintext credential storage in log files

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

FortiSIEM Windows Agent versions 4.1.4 and below store agent credentials in plaintext within log files. An authenticated local user can read these log files to obtain the plaintext agent password.

MitigationUpgrade FortiSIEM Windows Agent to version 4.1.5 or higher, and review/clear any log files that may contain exposed credentials.

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
FortisiemApplication
Affected:>= 3.1.0, <= 4.1.4

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed FortiSIEM Windows Agent version
    Open Windows Control Panel, go to Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object Name,Version' to find the installed FortiSIEM Windows Agent version
    Affected if The installed version is between 3.1.0 and 4.1.4 inclusive
  2. Locate FortiSIEM Windows Agent log directories
    Check the FortiSIEM agent installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\FortiSIEM\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\FortiSIEM\) for subfolders containing log files, commonly in a 'logs' or 'conf' subdirectory
    Affected if Log directories exist and contain log files from an affected agent version
  3. Search agent log files for plaintext credential patterns
    Use a text search tool (such as 'findstr' or a text editor) to open and search log files in the agent directories for strings like 'password', 'credential', or visible password values. Look for any entries containing what appears to be plaintext passwords or authentication tokens
    Affected if Log files contain plaintext passwords or credential strings associated with the agent configuration

If the FortiSIEM Windows Agent version is between 3.1.0 and 4.1.4 and log files contain plaintext agent passwords or credentials, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 a release after 4.1.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiSIEM Windows Agent to version 4.1.5 or higher, and review/clear any log files that may contain exposed credentials.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

FortiSIEM Windows Agent 4.2.0 or later (any version above 4.1.4)

  1. 1. Identify all FortiSIEM Windows Agent installations in the environment running version 4.1.4 or below
  2. 2. Download the latest FortiSIEM Windows Agent from Fortinet support portal or Fortiguard
  3. 3. Upgrade the FortiSIEM Windows Agent to version 4.2.0 or later which contains the fix for CVE-2021-41023
  4. 4. After upgrade, verify the agent is running and communicating properly with the FortiSIEM supervisor
  5. 5. Review and purge any existing log files that may contain plaintext credentials to prevent further exposure
  6. 6. Ensure proper log rotation and access controls are in place to prevent future credential exposure in logs
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between 4.1.4 and the target upgrade version

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

Fix this in Fortisiem Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-41023 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-41023 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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