dbcve.org
FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2023-28001

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.2.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
An insufficient session expiration in Fortinet FortiOS 7.0.0 - 7.0.12 and 7.2.0 - 7.2.4 allows an attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via reusing the session of a deleted user in the REST API.

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

Insufficient session expiration in FortiOS allows reuse of REST API sessions belonging to deleted users, enabling an attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands by leveraging these stale sessions that were not properly invalidated upon user deletion.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to version 7.0.13 or 7.2.5 or later to receive the patch. Apply during a planned maintenance window with rollback capability.

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:>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.12>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Identify the FortiOS version
    Log into FortiGate via GUI (System > FortiGuard) or CLI (execute get system status) and note the firmware version displayed
    Affected if The version falls within 7.0.0-7.0.12 or 7.2.0-7.2.4
  2. Confirm REST API is in use
    Review the FortiGate configuration for enabled REST API admin profiles (GUI: System > Administrators, or CLI: get system admin) and check for REST API-type admin accounts
    Affected if REST API admin accounts exist and are active in the environment
  3. Review admin user deletions
    Check the admin user list (CLI: get system admin) and cross-reference with session logs to identify if any admin accounts were deleted while sessions may have remained active
    Affected if Deleted admin users had active REST API sessions prior to deletion and those sessions could still be valid
  4. Inspect active sessions
    Use CLI command 'execute log filter' to review session logs and identify any authenticated sessions that may belong to users no longer present in the admin database
    Affected if Active sessions exist for users that no longer exist in the admin user database

A FortiOS instance is affected if it runs version 7.0.0-7.0.12 or 7.2.0-7.2.4, has REST API admin accounts configured, and has any deleted users whose sessions were not properly terminated.

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 7.2.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to version 7.0.13 or 7.2.5 or later to receive the patch. Apply during a planned maintenance window with rollback capability.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiOS 7.0.13 or later; FortiOS 7.2.5 or later

  1. 1. Backup current FortiOS configuration using 'execute backup config tftp' or through the GUI.
  2. 2. Download the latest FortiOS release from Fortinet support portal (fortinet.com/support).
  3. 3. For FortiOS 7.0.x: Upgrade to version 7.0.13 or later.
  4. 4. For FortiOS 7.2.x: Upgrade to version 7.2.5 or later.
  5. 5. Upload the firmware via GUI (System > Firmware) or CLI: 'execute upgrade firmware'
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the upgrade was successful: 'get system status' to confirm new version.
  7. 7. Verify the fix by confirming deleted user sessions are properly terminated.
Caveat Review release notes for potential configuration changes between versions; test in staging environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Fortios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28001 — 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-2023-28001 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