FortiadcApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2022-23439

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-22

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.5.2 / 6.0.11 or later.

See remediation →

68/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description

NVD · unedited

A externally controlled reference to a resource in another sphere vulnerability in Fortinet allows attacker to poison web caches via crafted HTTP requests, where the `Host` header points to an arbitrary webserver

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

Fortinet products contain an externally controlled reference vulnerability where crafted HTTP requests with a manipulated Host header pointing to an arbitrary webserver can poison web caches. This allows attackers to potentially inject malicious content into cached responses served to other users.

MitigationImplement strict validation of Host headers in web applications and consider implementing cache keying that includes additional parameters to prevent cache poisoning. Apply any available Fortinet patches for affected products.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

FortiadcApplication

Affected:>= 5.4.0, < 6.2.4

FortiauthenticatorApplication

Affected:>= 6.3.0, < 6.3.4>= 6.4.0, < 6.4.2

FortiddosApplication

Affected:>= 5.3.0, < 5.5.2

Fortiddos FApplication

Affected:>= 6.1.0, < 6.3.4

FortimailApplication

Affected:>= 6.4.0, < 7.0.4

FortindrApplication

Affected:>= 1.4.0, < 7.1.1= 7.2.0

FortiproxyApplication

Affected:>= 2.0.0, < 7.0.5>= 7.2.0, < 7.4.0

FortirecorderApplication

Affected:>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.11>= 6.4.0, < 6.4.3

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

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

Identify the Fortinet product

Access the device CLI or web interface and run the command 'get system status' or check the dashboard to identify the product name (e.g., Fortiadc, Fortiauthenticator, Fortiddos, Fortimail, Fortiproxy, Fortirecorder)

Affected if The product is any of these Fortinet products: Fortiadc, Fortiauthenticator, Fortiddos, Fortiddos F, Fortimail, Fortindr, Fortiproxy, or Fortirecorder
Determine the installed firmware version

Run 'get system status' in CLI or check System > Firmware in the web interface to find the exact version number

Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: Fortiadc < 6.2.4 (>= 5.4.0), Fortiauthenticator < 6.3.4 (>= 6.3.0) or < 6.4.2 (>= 6.4.0), Fortiddos < 5.5.2 (>= 5.3.0), Fortiddos F < 6.3.4 (>= 6.1.0), Fortimail < 7.0.4 (>= 6.4.0), Fortindr < 7.1.1 (>= 1.4.0) or = 7.2.0, Fortiproxy < 7.0.5 (>= 2.0.0) or
Check if web caching or proxy service is enabled

For Fortiproxy: go to Security Profiles > Web Cache or run 'show webcache' in CLI. For Fortiadc: check Load Balance > Web Cache settings. For Fortimail: check Mail Settings > Web Cache. For other products, inspect the proxy or caching configuration.

Affected if Web caching or HTTP proxy functionality is enabled and serving cached content to users
Verify Host header handling in the configuration

Inspect the proxy or web service configuration for Host header validation settings. Run 'show' commands related to proxy, webcache, or HTTP forwarding. Check whether Host header values are used as cache keys without validation.

Affected if The device uses the Host header as part of the cache key without strict validation, or forwards requests with arbitrary Host headers to backend servers

A user is affected if they are running any of the listed Fortinet products within the specified version ranges AND have web caching or HTTP proxy features enabled that use Host headers in cache keying.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.5.2 / 6.0.11 / 6.2.4 or later

Fixed in 5.5.26.0.116.2.4

Interim mitigation

Implement strict validation of Host headers in web applications and consider implementing cache keying that includes additional parameters to prevent cache poisoning. Apply any available Fortinet patches for affected products.

Recommended fix High confidence

1. Identify the affected Fortinet product from your deployment (Fortiadc, Fortiauthenticator, Fortiddos, Fortiddos F, Fortimail, Fortindr, Fortiproxy, or Fortirecorder)
2. Determine the currently installed version using the product's CLI (typically `get system status` or ` diagnose system full-status`) or web UI
3. Consult Fortinet's FortiGuard advisories or release notes for the specific fixed release corresponding to your product line
4. Download the fixed firmware version from Fortinet's support portal (support.fortinet.com) after authenticating with valid entitlements
5. Back up the current configuration following the product's backup procedures
6. Upload and install the fixed firmware via the web UI (System > Firmware or similar) or CLI (`execute firmware upgrade`)
7. After upgrade, verify the version matches the fixed release and confirm normal operation

Caveat Standard Fortinet firmware upgrade - review release notes for any configuration migration notes; minor version jumps within same major release typically have minimal breaking changes

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

Fix this in Fortiadc 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

Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-23439 — 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

Primary sources

fortiguard.com
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-23439 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2022-23439?

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

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 5.5.2 / 6.0.11 or later

Severity 6.1 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.4%

Affects: Fortiadc

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Fix this in Fortiadc 20 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $3,500

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

We specialise in CVE remediation. Send your environment and we’ll scope CVE-2022-23439 and return a fixed quote.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References