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ForticlientApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2024-40592

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.2.5 or later.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 verification of cryptographic signature vulnerability [CWE-347] in FortiClient MacOS version 7.4.0, version 7.2.4 and below, version 7.0.10 and below, version 6.4.10 and below may allow a local authenticated attacker to swap the installer with a malicious package via a race condition during the installation process.

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

FortiClient MacOS installer versions 7.4.0, 7.2.4 and below, 7.0.10 and below, and 6.4.10 and below contains a race condition vulnerability during the installation process that allows a local authenticated attacker to swap the legitimate installer with a malicious package due to improper cryptographic signature verification (CWE-347).

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches for FortiClient MacOS to address the signature verification race condition. Until patched, limit local administrative access and monitor installation processes.

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
ForticlientApplication
Affected:>= 6.4.0, < 7.2.5= 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
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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 if FortiClient is installed on MacOS
    Open Terminal and run: ls /Applications/ | grep -i forticlient
    Affected if FortiClient appears in the Applications directory
  2. Determine the installed FortiClient version on MacOS
    Run: defaults read /Applications/FortiClient.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleShortVersionString
    Affected if The version displayed matches 7.4.0, or falls within 6.4.0-7.2.4, or 7.0.0-7.0.10, or 6.4.0-6.4.10 ranges
  3. Verify the exact version number for precise matching
    Run: /Applications/FortiClient.app/Contents/Resources/FortiClientUtility --version 2>/dev/null || defaults read /Applications/FortiClient.app/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleVersion
    Affected if Version is 7.4.0, or between 7.2.0-7.2.4 inclusive, or between 7.0.0-7.0.10 inclusive, or between 6.4.0-6.4.10 inclusive

If FortiClient for MacOS is installed and its version is 7.4.0 or falls within any of these ranges: 6.4.0 through 7.2.4, 7.0.0 through 7.0.10, or 6.4.0 through 6.4.10, then the environment is affected by this signature verification race condition vulnerability.

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 7.2.5 or later
Fixed in 7.2.5
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches for FortiClient MacOS to address the signature verification race condition. Until patched, limit local administrative access and monitor installation processes.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiClient MacOS 7.4.1 or later, or 7.2.5 or later

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed FortiClient version on MacOS by checking the application or using system reporting tools.
  2. 2. If running FortiClient version 7.4.0, upgrade to version 7.4.1 or later.
  3. 3. If running FortiClient version 7.2.4 or below, upgrade to version 7.2.5 or later.
  4. 4. If running FortiClient version 7.0.10 or below, upgrade to version 7.2.5 or later (7.0.x is end-of-life).
  5. 5. If running FortiClient version 6.4.10 or below, upgrade to version 7.2.5 or later (6.4.x is end-of-life).
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new FortiClient version after installation.
Caveat Upgrading from older major versions (6.4.x, 7.0.x) to 7.2.x or 7.4.x may require reconfiguration; ensure compatibility with your FortiGate/management infrastructure before upgrading

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

Fix this in Forticlient Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,820
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-40592 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