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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 4 Apr 2023.
FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2022-41328

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.2.14 / 6.4.12 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability ('path traversal') [CWE-22] in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.2.0 through 7.2.3, 7.0.0 through 7.0.9 and before 6.4.11 allows a privileged attacker to read and write files on the underlying Linux system via crafted CLI commands.

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

A path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) in FortiOS CLI allows privileged attackers to escape restricted directories and read/write arbitrary files on the underlying Linux system using crafted CLI commands. This affects versions 7.2.0-7.2.3, 7.0.0-7.0.9, and before 6.4.11.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to version 7.2.4, 7.0.10, 6.4.11, or later to patch the vulnerability. Apply during a scheduled maintenance window with configuration backups.

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
FortiosOperating system
Affected:>= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.16>= 6.2.0, < 6.2.14>= 6.4.0, < 6.4.12>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.10>= 7.2.0, < 7.2.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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. Identify FortiOS version
    Run 'get system status' in the FortiOS CLI or check the FortiGate dashboard under System > Firmware. The output will show the current FortiOS version.
    Affected if The installed version falls within: 6.0.0-6.0.16, 6.2.0-6.2.13, 6.4.0-6.4.11, 7.0.0-7.0.9, or 7.2.0-7.2.3. Any of these ranges are vulnerable.
  2. Confirm CLI access is enabled
    Verify that the FortiOS CLI interface is accessible via console, SSH, or the GUI CLI console widget. Check 'config system interface' and review which interfaces allow admin access.
    Affected if CLI access is enabled on any management interface (SSH, console, or GUI CLI) - the vulnerability is exploited through CLI commands.
  3. Review admin account configuration
    List all admin accounts by running 'get system admin' in CLI. Identify accounts with 'super_admin' or 'admin' profile privileges.
    Affected if Any admin-level accounts exist - the vulnerability requires an authenticated attacker with privileged (admin) CLI access.
  4. Audit CLI command logs for suspicious activity
    Review CLI audit logs via 'execute log filter category 23' (event logs) or check the Log & Report > Event Log section for CLI commands containing path traversal patterns such as '../', '..\', or commands targeting /etc, /var, or other system directories outside the FortiOS restricted shell.
    Affected if Recent CLI logs show commands with directory traversal sequences or unexpected file system access from non-default admin sessions.

You are affected if your FortiOS version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND CLI access with admin accounts is enabled, since exploitation requires authenticated CLI access with admin privileges to execute the path traversal.

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 6.2.14 / 6.4.12 / 7.0.10 or later
Fixed in 6.2.146.4.127.0.10
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to version 7.2.4, 7.0.10, 6.4.11, or later to patch the vulnerability. Apply during a scheduled maintenance window with configuration backups.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to FortiOS 6.4.12 or later, 7.0.10 or later, or 7.2.4 or later depending on your current branch

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiOS version by running 'get system status' in the FortiOS CLI
  2. 2. Based on your current version, plan the upgrade path to the fixed release
  3. 3. Before upgrading, backup the current FortiOS configuration using 'execute backup config tftp/ftp/sftp <config_name> <server>'
  4. 4. Review the FortiOS upgrade path matrix at fortiguard.com to ensure your hardware platform supports the target version
  5. 5. Download the firmware from Fortinet support portal or FortiGuard
  6. 6. Upload the firmware via FortiOS CLI: 'execute upload image <image_file>' or via Web UI under System > Firmware
  7. 7. Reboot the FortiGate device to apply the new firmware
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the new version with 'get system status' and confirm the fix is applied by testing the vulnerable functionality
Caveat Review release notes for your specific upgrade path as minor version jumps may introduce behavioral changes; some features may be deprecated in newer branches

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

Fix this in Fortios Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,700
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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-2022-41328 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