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FortimailApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2023-33302

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.0.11 / 6.2.7 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 buffer copy without checking size of input ('classic buffer overflow') in Fortinet FortiMail webmail and administrative interface version 6.4.0 through 6.4.4 and before 6.2.6 and FortiNDR administrative interface version 7.2.0 and before 7.1.0 allows an authenticated attacker with regular webmail access to trigger a buffer overflow and to possibly execute unauthorized code or commands via specifically crafted HTTP requests.

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 classic buffer overflow vulnerability in FortiMail webmail and administrative interface allows authenticated attackers with regular webmail privileges to execute arbitrary code or commands via specially crafted HTTP requests that exceed buffer boundaries without proper size validation.

MitigationUpgrade FortiMail to version 6.4.5 or 6.2.6 or later, and FortiNDR to version 7.1.0 or later. Apply vendor-provided patches and verify the upgrade in a non-production environment before deployment.

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
FortimailApplication
Affected:>= 5.4.0, <= 5.4.12>= 6.0.0, < 6.0.11>= 6.2.0, < 6.2.7>= 6.4.0, < 6.4.5
FortindrApplication
Affected:>= 1.1.0, < 7.2.1

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 FortiMail installed version
    Log into the FortiMail administrative GUI or CLI and navigate to System > Maintenance > Dashboard, or run 'get system status' in CLI to retrieve the firmware version
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 5.4.0 to 5.4.12, 6.0.0 to 6.0.10, 6.2.0 to 6.2.6, or 6.4.0 to 6.4.4
  2. Identify FortiNDR installed version
    Log into the FortiNDR interface or run 'fnrdctl -v' or check System > Dashboard in the GUI for the version number
    Affected if The displayed version is between 1.1.0 and 7.2.0 inclusive
  3. Verify webmail interface is enabled
    In FortiMail GUI, go to Domain > Domain Settings, or check the 'config system webmail' CLI settings to confirm the webmail service is enabled
    Affected if Webmail service is enabled and accessible on the network
  4. Confirm regular webmail user accounts exist
    Check User > User Mailbox or run 'config email user' in CLI to list existing webmail users with regular (non-admin) privileges
    Affected if At least one regular webmail user account is provisioned in the system
  5. Check for HTTP request handling exposure
    Review web access logs or proxy logs for unusually long HTTP requests to webmail endpoints, or use packet capture on the webmail interface port to inspect incoming request sizes
    Affected if Large or malformed HTTP requests can reach the webmail service without size validation being evident in logs

The environment is affected if FortiMail version is 5.4.0-5.4.12, 6.0.0-6.0.10, 6.2.0-6.2.6, or 6.4.0-6.4.4, or FortiNDR is 1.1.0-7.2.0, and the webmail interface is enabled with regular user accounts accessible.

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 6.0.11 / 6.2.7 / 6.4.5 or later
Fixed in 6.0.116.2.76.4.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiMail to version 6.4.5 or 6.2.6 or later, and FortiNDR to version 7.1.0 or later. Apply vendor-provided patches and verify the upgrade in a non-production environment before deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiMail: 5.4.13+, 6.0.11+, 6.2.7+, or 6.4.5+ | FortiNDR: 7.2.1+

  1. 1. Identify the exact FortiMail version currently deployed using the web GUI (System > Dashboard > Status) or CLI: 'get system status'.
  2. 2. For FortiMail deployments: Upgrade to version 5.4.13 or later if on 5.4.x; upgrade to 6.0.11 or later if on 6.0.x; upgrade to 6.2.7 or later if on 6.2.x; upgrade to 6.4.5 or later if on 6.4.x.
  3. 3. For FortiNDR deployments: Upgrade to version 7.2.1 or later if vulnerable.
  4. 4. Before upgrading, backup the current configuration via CLI: 'execute backup config tftp <config_name> <tftp_server>' or via web GUI (System > Maintenance > Backup & Restore).
  5. 5. Download the firmware from Fortinet Customer Support portal or FortiGuard, then upload via System > Firmware or CLI: 'execute upgrade firmware <image_file>'.
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed: 'get system status' and confirm the buffer overflow is remediated.
Caveat Review Fortinet release notes for the target version to check for configuration or feature changes; test in staging before production deployment.

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

Fix this in Fortimail Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-33302 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
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data