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Fortiextender FirmwareOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2024-23663

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 7.4.2 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 access control in Fortinet FortiExtender 4.1.1 - 4.1.9, 4.2.0 - 4.2.6, 5.3.2, 7.0.0 - 7.0.4, 7.2.0 - 7.2.4 and 7.4.0 - 7.4.2 allows an attacker to create users with elevated privileges via a crafted HTTP request.

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

This is an improper access control vulnerability in Fortinet FortiExtender that allows unauthenticated or low-privileged attackers to create new users with elevated privileges via crafted HTTP requests. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of access rights when processing user creation requests, enabling privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade FortiExtender to a patched version (7.4.3, 7.2.5, 7.0.5, 5.3.3, 4.2.7, or 4.1.10 or later) and review user accounts for unauthorized elevated-privilege accounts.

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
Fortiextender FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 4.1.1, <= 4.1.9>= 4.2.0, <= 4.2.6>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.4>= 7.2.0, <= 7.2.4>= 7.4.0, <= 7.4.2= 5.3.2

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check FortiExtender firmware version
    Access the FortiExtender CLI and run 'get system status' or check System > Firmware in the web GUI to retrieve the installed firmware version.
    Affected if Version is 4.1.1 through 4.1.9, 4.2.0 through 4.2.6, 5.3.2, 7.0.0 through 7.0.4, 7.2.0 through 7.2.4, or 7.4.0 through 7.4.2
  2. Confirm HTTP management interface is exposed
    Verify that the FortiExtender HTTP or HTTPS management interface is reachable from network segments where untrusted or low-privileged users could send HTTP requests.
    Affected if HTTP management interface is accessible from untrusted networks or user-facing interfaces
  3. Review administrator accounts for unauthorized users
    In the FortiExtender GUI, navigate to System > Administrators. In CLI, run 'get system admin' to list all accounts. Check for any unexpected admin accounts with elevated privileges, particularly 'super_admin' or 'prof_admin' profiles that were not created by known administrators.
    Affected if Unexpected admin accounts with elevated privileges exist in the system
  4. Inspect event logs for user creation activity
    In the GUI, go to Log & Report > Event Log. In CLI, use 'execute log display' or 'execute log filter category event' to review logs for user creation or administrator addition events, especially from unusual source IPs or outside normal administrative hours.
    Affected if Logs contain user creation events from unknown sources or at unexpected times

Environment is affected if the installed FortiExtender firmware version falls within the affected ranges and the HTTP management interface is accessible to untrusted or low-privileged users.

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 7.4.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiExtender to a patched version (7.4.3, 7.2.5, 7.0.5, 5.3.3, 4.2.7, or 4.1.10 or later) and review user accounts for unauthorized elevated-privilege accounts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to FortiExtender firmware 4.1.10 or later (for 4.1.x branch), 4.2.7 or later (for 4.2.x branch), 7.0.5 or later (for 7.0.x branch), or 7.2.5 or later (for 7.2.x branch); version 7.4.3 addresses the 7.4.x branch

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiExtender firmware version by accessing the device via CLI (get system status) or FortiManager/FortiWeb GUI.
  2. 2. Determine which version branch your current firmware belongs to (4.1.x, 4.2.x, 7.0.x, or 7.2.x).
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed firmware version from the Fortinet Customer Support Portal (https://support.fortinet.com).
  4. 4. Upgrade the FortiExtender firmware using the device GUI (System > Firmware) or CLI command: 'execute firmware upgrade <image_name>'
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the new firmware version is applied.
  6. 6. Review user accounts to ensure no unauthorized privileged users were created during the vulnerability window.
  7. 7. Implement least-privilege access controls and monitor for suspicious user creation activities.
Caveat Standard firmware upgrade - ensure backup of configuration before upgrading; some upgrades may require follow-up steps per Fortinet upgrade guide

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

Fix this in Fortiextender Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2024-23663 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
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