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FortiadcApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2023-50178

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
83/100
Remediation priority · High
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
An improper certificate validation vulnerability [CWE-295] in FortiADC 7.4.0, 7.2.0 through 7.2.3, 7.1 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 6.2 all versions, 6.1 all versions and 6.0 all versions may allow a remote and unauthenticated attacker to perform a Man-in-the-Middle attack on the communication channel between the device and various remote servers such as private SDN connectors and FortiToken Cloud.

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

FortiADC contains an improper certificate validation vulnerability (CWE-295) that allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to perform Man-in-the-Middle attacks on communications between the device and remote servers such as private SDN connectors and FortiToken Cloud. The vulnerability stems from the appliance failing to properly validate SSL/TLS certificates when establishing connections to these external services.

MitigationUpgrade FortiADC to a patched version as specified in Fortinet's security advisory. For interim mitigation, ensure all communication with sensitive services occurs over networks with strong access controls to reduce MITM exposure.

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
FortiadcApplication
Affected:>= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.4>= 6.1.0, <= 6.1.6>= 6.2.0, <= 6.2.6>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.2>= 7.1.0, <= 7.2.3= 7.4.0

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

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

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 installed FortiADC version
    Run the command 'get system status' or 'diagnose sys version' in the FortiADC CLI to retrieve the firmware version
    Affected if The version displayed falls within these ranges: 6.0.0 to 6.0.4, 6.1.0 to 6.1.6, 6.2.0 to 6.2.6, 7.0.0 to 7.0.2, 7.1.0 to 7.2.3, or exactly 7.4.0
  2. Identify SDN connector configurations
    Review the FortiADC configuration for any SDN connector settings, typically found under 'System' > 'SDN Connector' or by running 'get system sdn-connector' in CLI
    Affected if An SDN connector is configured and the FortiADC version is in the affected list, as the device will attempt SSL/TLS connections without proper certificate validation
  3. Identify FortiToken Cloud configuration
    Check for FortiToken Cloud integration settings, typically under 'User' > 'FortiToken Cloud' or by running 'get fortitoken-cloud-setting' in CLI
    Affected if FortiToken Cloud is enabled and the FortiADC version is in the affected list, as certificate validation is not performed when communicating with FortiToken Cloud service

A system is affected if the FortiADC version is any of the listed affected versions AND the device is configured to connect to external services such as SDN connectors or FortiToken Cloud.

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 a release after 7.2.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiADC to a patched version as specified in Fortinet's security advisory. For interim mitigation, ensure all communication with sensitive services occurs over networks with strong access controls to reduce MITM exposure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to FortiADC 6.0.5+, 6.1.7+, 6.2.7+, 7.0.3+, or 7.4.1+ (latest stable release in your respective branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiADC version by running: get system status or diag sys version
  2. 2. Based on the affected version range, plan upgrade path: For 6.x versions upgrade to 6.0.5+, 6.1.7+, 6.2.7+ respectively; for 7.0.x upgrade to 7.0.3+; for 7.1.x and 7.2.0-7.2.3 upgrade to the latest available patch in those branches; for 7.4.0 upgrade to 7.4.1 or later
  3. 3. Download the appropriate firmware upgrade from Fortinet customer support portal or FortiGuard: https://www.fortinet.com/support/terms
  4. 4. Before upgrading, backup the current configuration using: execute backup config tftp <config-name> <tftp-server-ip>
  5. 5. Upload the new firmware image via Web UI (System > Firmware > Upload) or CLI: execute restore image tftp <file-name> <tftp-server-ip>
  6. 6. Reboot the device to apply the new firmware: execute reboot
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version is installed: get system status
  8. 8. Confirm the certificate validation vulnerability is resolved by testing connections to affected services (private SDN connectors, FortiToken Cloud)
Caveat Review FortiADC release notes for your upgrade path as minor version jumps may introduce new features or configuration changes; always test in staging before production deployment

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

Fix this in Fortiadc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2023-50178 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data