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FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2023-50176

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.0.14 / 7.2.8 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 session fixation in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.4.0 through 7.4.3 and 7.2.0 through 7.2.7 and 7.0.0 through 7.0.13 allows attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via phishing SAML authentication link.

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 session fixation vulnerability in FortiOS allows attackers to manipulate SAML authentication session tokens via phishing links, potentially leading to unauthorized code or command execution on affected FortiGate devices.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to version 7.4.4 or later (for 7.4.x), 7.2.8 or later (for 7.2.x), or 7.0.14 or later (for 7.0.x). Review SAML authentication configurations and monitor for suspicious session activity.

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, < 7.0.14>= 7.2.0, < 7.2.8>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.4

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Check FortiOS version
    Run CLI command: get system status or show system global. Look for the 'FortiOS' or 'Version' field in the output.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 7.0.0 to 7.0.13, 7.2.0 to 7.2.7, or 7.4.0 to 7.4.3.
  2. Verify SAML service configuration
    Run CLI command: show full-configuration saml. Also run get saml to see the current SAML settings.
    Affected if SAML service is enabled and configured (any IdP or SP settings exist).
  3. Check SSL-VPN and VPN SAML bindings
    Run CLI command: show vpn ssl web for SSL-VPN settings and look for 'saml' references. Run get vpn ssl web to see if SAML authentication is in use.
    Affected if SAML authentication is configured for SSL-VPN or any VPN portal.
  4. Check user SAML bindings
    Run CLI command: get user saml and show full-configuration user saml to see all SAML user configurations.
    Affected if Any SAML users or SAML-based authentication providers are defined in the system.
  5. Review system session tables
    Run CLI command: get session list or diagnose sys session list to view active sessions. Look for sessions with abnormal or unexpected SAML attributes.
    Affected if Multiple sessions exist from the same source IP with different session IDs, which may indicate session fixation attempts.

You are affected if your FortiOS version is 7.0.0-7.0.13, 7.2.0-7.2.7, or 7.4.0-7.4.3 AND you have SAML authentication configured for any VPN, SSL-VPN, or user authentication.

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 7.0.14 / 7.2.8 / 7.4.4 or later
Fixed in 7.0.147.2.87.4.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to version 7.4.4 or later (for 7.4.x), 7.2.8 or later (for 7.2.x), or 7.0.14 or later (for 7.0.x). Review SAML authentication configurations and monitor for suspicious session activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiOS 7.0.14 (for 7.0.x branch), 7.2.8 (for 7.2.x branch), or 7.4.4 (for 7.4.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify current FortiOS version by running 'get system status' in CLI or checking in GUI dashboard
  2. 2. Backup current FortiOS configuration using 'execute backup config flash' or via GUI
  3. 3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  4. 4. Download the appropriate firmware for your version branch from Fortinet support portal
  5. 5. For FortiOS 7.0.x: upgrade to 7.0.14 or later
  6. 6. For FortiOS 7.2.x: upgrade to 7.2.8 or later
  7. 7. For FortiOS 7.4.x: upgrade to 7.4.4 or later
  8. 8. Upload firmware via 'execute upload image' CLI command or via GUI under System > Firmware
Caveat Upgrading across major version branches (e.g., 7.0 to 7.4) may require additional planning and testing; review Fortinet upgrade path documentation for compatibility with other Fortinet products in your environment

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
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2023-50176 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