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FortiproxyApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2023-41675

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.2.4 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A use after free vulnerability [CWE-416] in FortiOS version 7.2.0 through 7.2.4 and version 7.0.0 through 7.0.10 and FortiProxy version 7.2.0 through 7.2.2 and version 7.0.0 through 7.0.8 may allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash the WAD process via multiple crafted packets reaching proxy policies or firewall policies with proxy mode alongside SSL deep packet inspection.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in FortiOS and FortiProxy's WAD (Web Authentication Daemon) process allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to crash the WAD process by sending multiple crafted packets to proxy policies or firewall policies with proxy mode and SSL deep packet inspection enabled.

MitigationUpgrade to FortiOS version 7.2.5 or later (7.0.11 or later) and FortiProxy version 7.2.3 or later (7.0.9 or later). Alternatively, disable proxy mode or SSL deep inspection on affected policies as a compensating control until patching is feasible.

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
FortiproxyApplication
Affected:>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.8= 7.2.0= 7.2.1= 7.2.2
FortiosOperating system
Affected:>= 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

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 product and version
    Run 'get system status' or 'fortios -v' on CLI to confirm FortiOS or FortiProxy version
    Affected if Version falls within 7.0.0-7.0.10, 7.0.0-7.0.8, 7.2.0-7.2.4, or 7.2.0-7.2.2 ranges for the respective product
  2. Confirm WAD process is active
    Run 'diagnose system process wad' or check process list via 'diagnose sys process list' to verify Web Authentication Daemon is running
    Affected if WAD process is running and handling proxy traffic
  3. Check for proxy policies
    Run 'get firewall proxy-policy' or 'show firewall policy' and look for policies with 'proxy' set as the type or mode
    Affected if Any proxy-type policies exist on the device
  4. Verify SSL deep inspection is enabled on policies
    Run 'show firewall ssl-ssh-profile' and check proxy policies for reference to SSL deep inspection profiles, or examine policy configuration via 'show firewall policy <id>'
    Affected if Proxy policies reference SSL deep inspection profiles (ssl-ssh-profile with deep inspection enabled)
  5. Check for impacted policy configurations
    Review proxy policy settings for 'ssl-deep-inspection' enabled and 'mode' set to 'proxy' using 'get firewall proxy-policy' or GUI policy views
    Affected if Any active policy has both proxy mode and SSL deep inspection enabled simultaneously

Device is affected if running a vulnerable FortiOS (7.0.0-7.0.10 or 7.2.0-7.2.4) or FortiProxy (7.0.0-7.0.8, 7.2.0-7.2.2) version AND has active proxy policies with SSL deep packet inspection enabled.

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 7.2.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to FortiOS version 7.2.5 or later (7.0.11 or later) and FortiProxy version 7.2.3 or later (7.0.9 or later). Alternatively, disable proxy mode or SSL deep inspection on affected policies as a compensating control until patching is feasible.

Fix this in Fortiproxy 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
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-41675 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