FortiedrApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2023-44248
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 · uneditedAn improper access control vulnerability [CWE-284] in FortiEDRCollectorWindows version 5.2.0.4549 and below, 5.0.3.1007 and below, 4.0 all may allow a local attacker to prevent the collector service to start in the next system reboot by tampering with some registry keys of the service.
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 confidenceThis is a local improper access control vulnerability in FortiEDR Collector Windows (versions 5.2.0.4549 and below, 5.0.3.1007 and below, 4.0 all). A local attacker with standard user privileges can tamper with specific registry keys associated with the collector service, causing the service to fail to start after a system reboot. This is a denial-of-service condition achievable through insufficient access controls on Windows registry keys.
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
FortiedrApplication
>= 5.0.3, <= 5.0.3.1007>= 5.2.0, <= 5.2.0.4549= 4.0.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm FortiEDR Collector is installedOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*FortiEDR*"}' in PowerShell. Look for FortiEDR Collector in the installed programs list.Affected if FortiEDR Collector Windows is not present on the system.
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Determine installed FortiEDR Collector versionIn Programs and Features, note the version column for FortiEDR Collector. Alternatively, check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{GUID} or run 'fortiedr.exe -v' if the binary is in the installation directory.Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: 5.0.3 through 5.0.3.1007 (inclusive), 5.2.0 through 5.2.0.4549 (inclusive), or exactly 4.0.0.
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Identify FortiEDR Collector service registry keysOpen Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services. Look for a service entry named FortiEDRCollector or similar. Right-click the key and select 'Permissions' to view the Access Control List.Affected if The FortiEDR Collector service registry key exists under HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services.
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Check registry key write permissions for standard usersIn the Permissions dialog for the service registry key, examine the entries under 'Group or user names'. Verify whether 'Users' or 'Authenticated Users' have 'Full Control' or 'Write' permissions granted.Affected if Standard non-admin users (Users group or Authenticated Users) are granted Write or Full Control permissions on the FortiEDR Collector service registry key.
A system is affected if FortiEDR Collector version 5.0.3-5.0.3.1007, 5.2.0-5.2.0.4549, or 4.0.0 is installed AND standard users have write access to the collector service registry keys.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of FortiEDR Collector Windows as provided by Fortinet. Additionally, restrict write access to the affected service registry keys to only privileged administrators.
Fix this in Fortiedr
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44248 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-44248 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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