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FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2024-46668

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.4.16 / 7.0.16 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
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 allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability [CWE-770] in FortiOS versions 7.4.0 through 7.4.4, versions 7.2.0 through 7.2.8, versions 7.0.0 through 7.0.15, and versions 6.4.0 through 6.4.15 may allow an unauthenticated remote user to consume all system memory via multiple large file uploads.

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 resource exhaustion vulnerability (CWE-770) in FortiOS allows unauthenticated remote attackers to consume all available system memory by uploading multiple large files. The lack of throttling or limits on file upload operations enables memory exhaustion leading to denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to a patched version (7.4.5 or later for the 7.4 branch, 7.2.9 or later for 7.2, 7.0.16 or later for 7.0, and 6.4.16 or later for 6.4). Implement network-level rate limiting or firewall policies to restrict file upload traffic until patching is complete.

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:>= 6.4.0, < 6.4.16>= 7.0.0, < 7.0.16>= 7.2.0, < 7.2.9>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.5

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Identify FortiOS version
    Execute 'get system status' on the FortiOS CLI or check the firmware version via the web UI dashboard. Compare the version number against the affected ranges: 6.4.0 to <6.4.16, 7.0.0 to <7.0.16, 7.2.0 to <7.2.9, 7.4.0 to <7.4.5
    Affected if Running any version within the listed ranges
  2. Confirm file upload functionality is accessible
    Review enabled services that accept file uploads such as SSL-VPN web portals, FortiGate Cloud, or file upload APIs. Check interface configurations and firewall policies to determine if upload endpoints are exposed to unauthenticated or external users
    Affected if File upload features are enabled and accessible from untrusted networks without authentication requirements
  3. Check for upload throttling or rate limiting
    Review firewall policies and traffic shaping configurations for any bandwidth limits, connection rate limits, or upload throttling applied to file transfer traffic. Look for configuration under system settings or policy settings related to upload restrictions
    Affected if No throttling, rate limiting, or bandwidth caps are configured for file upload operations

If the FortiOS version falls within the affected ranges and file upload functionality is exposed without any throttling or rate limiting, the environment is vulnerable to memory exhaustion from large file uploads.

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 6.4.16 / 7.0.16 / 7.2.9 or later
Fixed in 6.4.167.0.167.2.9
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to a patched version (7.4.5 or later for the 7.4 branch, 7.2.9 or later for 7.2, 7.0.16 or later for 7.0, and 6.4.16 or later for 6.4). Implement network-level rate limiting or firewall policies to restrict file upload traffic until patching is complete.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 6.4.16 (or latest 6.4.x), 7.0.16 (or latest 7.0.x), 7.2.9 (or latest 7.2.x), or 7.4.5 (or latest 7.4.x) depending on current branch

  1. Identify the current FortiOS version by running 'get system status' or checking the FortiOS GUI dashboard
  2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: 6.4.x → 6.4.16+, 7.0.x → 7.0.16+, 7.2.x → 7.2.9+, 7.4.x → 7.4.5+
  3. Download the appropriate FortiOS firmware image from Fortinet support portal (fortinet.com/support) or FortiGuard
  4. Verify the firmware image integrity using the provided checksum
  5. Back up the current FortiOS configuration using 'execute backup config' command
  6. Upload and install the new firmware image via FortiOS GUI (System > Firmware) or CLI using 'execute firmware upgrade'
  7. After upgrade, verify the system is operational and confirm the new version using 'get system status'
  8. Verify resource consumption returns to normal and the system is not experiencing memory exhaustion
Caveat Cross-branch upgrades (e.g., 6.4→7.0, 7.0→7.2, 7.2→7.4) may introduce breaking changes; review Fortinet release notes and upgrade path documentation before proceeding

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

Fix this in Fortios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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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-2024-46668 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