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ForticlientApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2022-40681

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.0.7 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
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 incorrect authorization in Fortinet FortiClient (Windows) 7.0.0 - 7.0.7, 6.4.0 - 6.4.9, 6.2.0 - 6.2.9 and 6.0.0 - 6.0.10 allows an attacker to cause denial of service via sending a crafted request to a specific named pipe.

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 · moderate confidence

FortiClient for Windows contains an incorrect authorization vulnerability in its named pipe communication mechanism. An attacker can send a crafted request to a specific named pipe to cause denial of service, likely due to improper access controls on the inter-process communication endpoint.

MitigationUpgrade FortiClient to version 7.0.8, 6.4.10, 6.2.10, or 6.0.11 or later. As a client-side endpoint product, deployment may require coordination across the organization and compatibility testing with existing systems.

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
ForticlientApplication
Affected:>= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.10>= 6.2.0, <= 6.2.9>= 6.4.0, <= 6.4.8>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.7

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check if FortiClient is installed on the Windows system
    Open Command Prompt and run: dir "C:\Program Files\Fortinet\FortiClient" /b 2>nul || dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Fortinet\FortiClient" /b 2>nul
    Affected if The FortiClient directory does not exist, meaning the product is not installed
  2. Locate the FortiClient executable to determine version
    Run: dir "C:\Program Files\Fortinet\FortiClient\FortiClient.exe" /b 2>nul || dir "C:\Program Files (x86)\Fortinet\FortiClient\FortiClient.exe" /b 2>nul. If found, right-click the .exe, select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version.
    Affected if The FortiClient.exe exists but the version falls within these ranges: 6.0.0-6.0.10, 6.2.0-6.2.9, 6.4.0-6.4.8, or 7.0.0-7.0.7
  3. Query FortiClient version via Windows Registry
    Run: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Fortinet\FortiClient" /v Version 2>nul || reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Fortinet\FortiClient" /v Version 2>nul
    Affected if The version retrieved from registry matches any of the affected ranges: 6.0.x where x <= 10, 6.2.x where x <= 9, 6.4.x where x <= 8, or 7.0.x where x <= 7
  4. Verify the FortiClient service is running (named pipe endpoint is active)
    Open Services (services.msc) and check if FortiClient Endpoint Policy Server, FortiClient EMS Connector, or similar FortiClient services are in Running state. Alternatively, run: sc query FortiClient
    Affected if FortiClient services are running on a system with an affected version, exposing the named pipe IPC endpoint
  5. Confirm the exact version number matches vulnerable releases
    Compare the installed version number to the affected ranges: FortiClient 6.0.0 through 6.0.10, 6.2.0 through 6.2.9, 6.4.0 through 6.4.8, or 7.0.0 through 7.0.7 are all vulnerable
    Affected if The installed version is 6.0.11, 6.2.10, 6.4.10, 7.0.8 or higher - these are NOT affected. Any version within the ranges listed above IS affected

A Windows system is affected if FortiClient is installed and the version falls within 6.0.0-6.0.10, 6.2.0-6.2.9, 6.4.0-6.4.8, or 7.0.0-7.0.7 with the FortiClient services running.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 7.0.7
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiClient to version 7.0.8, 6.4.10, 6.2.10, or 6.0.11 or later. As a client-side endpoint product, deployment may require coordination across the organization and compatibility testing with existing systems.

Fix this in Forticlient Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

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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-2022-40681 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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