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FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2023-48784

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0.16 / 7.2.8 or later.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 of externally-controlled format string vulnerability [CWE-134] in FortiOS version 7.4.1 and below, version 7.2.7 and below, 7.0 all versions, 6.4 all versions command line interface may allow a local privileged attacker with super-admin profile and CLI access to execute arbitrary code or commands via specially crafted 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 format string vulnerability (CWE-134) in FortiOS CLI versions 7.4.1 and below, 7.2.7 and below, 7.0 all versions, and 6.4 all versions allows a local privileged attacker with super-admin profile and CLI access to execute arbitrary code or commands via specially crafted format string inputs.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to version 7.4.2 or above, 7.2.8 or above, or later patched versions. Additionally, enforce least-privilege by limiting super-admin profiles and restricting CLI access to only trusted administrators.

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:>= 6.4.0, < 7.0.16>= 7.2.0, < 7.2.8>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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. Determine FortiOS version
    Run the CLI command 'get system status' and locate the 'Version' field in the output
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 6.4.0 to 7.0.15, 7.2.0 to 7.2.7, or 7.4.0 to 7.4.1 (all 7.0.x versions are affected)
  2. Identify super-admin profiles
    Run 'get system admin' and review the 'profile' field for each admin user. Look for entries showing 'super-admin' or a profile with full administrative privileges
    Affected if Any admin account exists with a super-admin profile or equivalent full-privilege profile
  3. Verify CLI access is enabled
    Check console and administrative access settings via 'get system console' and 'get system interface | grep -f admin' or review admin access configurations in the web UI under System > Administrators
    Affected if CLI access (console, SSH, or Telnet) is permitted for the super-admin accounts identified in step 2
  4. Confirm affected service is running
    Run 'diagnose sys service list' or check active services listening on administrative ports (22 for SSH, 443 for HTTPS GUI)
    Affected if Administrative services accepting CLI or GUI connections are exposed and reachable

The environment is affected if FortiOS version is in the vulnerable ranges AND at least one super-admin profile exists with CLI access 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.0.16 / 7.2.8 / 7.4.2 or later
Fixed in 7.0.167.2.87.4.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to version 7.4.2 or above, 7.2.8 or above, or later patched versions. Additionally, enforce least-privilege by limiting super-admin profiles and restricting CLI access to only trusted administrators.

Recommended fix High confidence

7.0.16 or later (7.0.x), 7.2.8 or later (7.2.x), or 7.4.2 or later (7.4.x) - recommend upgrading to latest 7.4.x branch for longest support

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiOS version running on the device using 'get system status' command in CLI or via FortiManager/FortiCloud.
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: for 6.4.x upgrade to 7.0.16 or later; for 7.0.x upgrade to 7.0.16 or later; for 7.2.x upgrade to 7.2.8 or later; for 7.4.0-7.4.1 upgrade to 7.4.2 or later.
  3. 3. Review Fortinet release notes for the target version to check for breaking changes, especially for configuration compatibility and feature behavior.
  4. 4. Back up the current FortiOS configuration using 'execute backup full-config' command.
  5. 5. Download the firmware image from Fortinet support portal (fortinet.com/support) matching the target fixed version.
  6. 6. Upload and install the firmware via CLI ('execute firmware upgrade') or through the web UI under System > Firmware.
  7. 7. After upgrade, verify the system is operational using 'get system status' and confirm the version reflects the fixed release.
  8. 8. Verify the fix by confirming the version is >= 7.0.16, >= 7.2.8, or >= 7.4.2 depending on the branch.
Caveat FortiOS firmware upgrades may introduce breaking changes; review release notes for configuration and feature compatibility before upgrading

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
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-48784 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