FortiadcApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2023-50179

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-09

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4.1 or later.

See remediation →

68/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

An improper certificate validation vulnerability [CWE-295] in FortiADC 7.4.0, 7.2 all versions, 7.1 all versions, 7.0 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 public SDN connectors.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

FortiADC versions 7.0 through 7.4.0 contain improper certificate validation (CWE-295) in communications with public SDN connectors. This allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to perform a Man-in-the-Middle attack by presenting a malicious certificate that the device fails to properly validate, potentially intercepting or manipulating traffic between the FortiADC and SDN infrastructure.

MitigationApply vendor patches for FortiADC 7.4.0, 7.2, 7.1, and 7.0. Until patched, avoid using public SDN connectors or implement additional out-of-band controls to verify certificate integrity.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

FortiadcApplication

Affected:>= 7.0.0, < 7.4.1

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: High
Privileges: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

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

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Check FortiADC firmware version

Run the command: get system status or execute 'fnsysctl get system status' from CLI. Look for the Version field in the output.

Affected if Version is 7.0.0 through 7.4.0 inclusive (versions below 7.0 are not affected, 7.4.1 and above are patched)
Identify configured SDN connectors

From FortiADC CLI, run: show system sdn-connector or navigate to Global Load Balancing > SDSN Connector in the web UI to list configured connectors.

Affected if Any SDN connector is configured on the device
Verify SDN connector type

For each SDN connector listed, check the Type or Connector Type field. Common public cloud SDN connectors include: AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle, AliCloud.

Affected if Any SDN connector is configured to connect to a public cloud provider (AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle, AliCloud, etc.)

You are affected if FortiADC is running version 7.0.0 through 7.4.0 and has a public cloud SDN connector configured for communication with external infrastructure.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.4.1 or later

Fixed in 7.4.1

Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches for FortiADC 7.4.0, 7.2, 7.1, and 7.0. Until patched, avoid using public SDN connectors or implement additional out-of-band controls to verify certificate integrity.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiADC 7.4.1 or later

1. Identify the current FortiADC version by navigating to the FortiADC GUI or running 'get system status' in the CLI
2. Download FortiADC firmware version 7.4.1 or later from the Fortinet Support Portal (https://support.fortinet.com)
3. Back up the current FortiADC configuration before upgrading
4. Upload the FortiADC 7.4.1 (or later) firmware image via the GUI (System > Firmware) or CLI
5. Reboot the FortiADC device to complete the firmware upgrade process
6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the system version (get system status)
7. Verify that the device can now properly validate certificates when connecting to SDN connectors

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

Fix this in Fortiadc Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation3.0 h
Implementation6.0 h
Testing3.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

14.0 hours of engineering $2,490

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

fortiguard.fortinet.comVendor Advisory
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-50179 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2023-50179?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 7.4.1 or later

Severity 5.9 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Fortiadc

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Fix this in Fortiadc 14 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $2,490

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

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You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References