dbcve.org
FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2025-22254

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.4.16 / 7.0.17 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Privilege Management vulnerability [CWE-269] vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, FortiOS 7.4.0 through 7.4.6, FortiOS 7.2.0 through 7.2.10, FortiOS 7.0.0 through 7.0.16, FortiOS 6.4.0 through 6.4.15, FortiProxy 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, FortiProxy 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, FortiWeb 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, FortiWeb 7.4.0 through 7.4.6 allows an authenticated attacker with at least read-only admin permissions to gain super-admin privileges via crafted requests to Node.js websocket module.

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 privilege escalation vulnerability in FortiOS, FortiProxy, and FortiWeb allows authenticated users with read-only admin permissions to gain super-admin privileges by sending crafted requests to the Node.js websocket module, exploiting improper privilege management (CWE-269).

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches to upgrade to FortiOS 7.6.2+, 7.4.7+, 7.2.11+, 7.0.17+, 6.4.16+; FortiProxy 7.4.8+ and 7.6.2+; FortiWeb 7.4.7+ and 7.6.2+. Limit admin account creation and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation.

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, < 7.0.17>= 7.2.0, < 7.2.11>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.7>= 7.6.0, < 7.6.2
FortiproxyApplication
Affected:>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.8>= 7.6.0, < 7.6.2
FortiwebApplication
Affected:>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.7>= 7.6.0, < 7.6.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Identify product and version
    Run 'get system status' on FortiOS/FortiProxy CLI, or check FortiWeb GUI/Dashboard for firmware version
    Affected if Version falls within any of the listed ranges: FortiOS 6.4.0-6.4.15, 7.0.0-7.0.16, 7.2.0-7.2.10, 7.4.0-7.4.6, 7.6.0-7.6.1; FortiProxy 7.4.0-7.4.7, 7.6.0-7.6.1; FortiWeb 7.4.0-7.4.6, 7.6.0-7.6.1
  2. Check for read-only admin accounts
    Run 'get system admin user' and look for accounts with 'accprofile' set to 'read-only' or a limited profile
    Affected if Any read-only or limited-profile admin accounts exist on the device
  3. Audit admin accounts for unexpected super-admin privileges
    Run 'get system admin user' and verify that all accounts with 'accprofile' set to 'super_admin' or profileid 'super_admin' were intentionally created by legitimate administrators
    Affected if Unknown or unexpected super-admin accounts are present
  4. Review logs for websocket module access
    Check FortiOS/FortiProxy/FortiWeb logs (Log & Report > Event Log > System) for API or websocket requests from read-only admin accounts performing privileged operations
    Affected if Logs show read-only accounts executing commands or accessing functions outside their expected权限

You are affected if your device runs a FortiOS, FortiProxy, or FortiWeb version within the affected ranges AND has read-only admin accounts that could be exploited to escalate to super-admin privileges.

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 / 7.0.17 / 7.2.11 or later
Fixed in 6.4.167.0.177.2.11
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches to upgrade to FortiOS 7.6.2+, 7.4.7+, 7.2.11+, 7.0.17+, 6.4.16+; FortiProxy 7.4.8+ and 7.6.2+; FortiWeb 7.4.7+ and 7.6.2+. Limit admin account creation and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to FortiOS 6.4.16+ / 7.0.17+ / 7.2.11+ / 7.4.7+ / 7.6.2+; FortiProxy 7.4.8+ / 7.6.2+; FortiWeb 7.4.7+ / 7.6.2+ depending on product line

  1. 1. Identify the Fortinet product (FortiOS, FortiProxy, or FortiWeb) currently deployed in your environment.
  2. 2. Check the current version of the installed product using the CLI command: `get system status` or `diagnose system info`.
  3. 3. Based on the product and current version, upgrade to the fixed version: For FortiOS 6.4.x, upgrade to 6.4.16 or later. For FortiOS 7.0.x, upgrade to 7.0.17 or later. For FortiOS 7.2.x, upgrade to 7.2.11 or later. For FortiOS 7.4.x, upgrade to 7.4.7 or later. For FortiOS 7.6.x, upgrade to 7.6.2 or later. For FortiProxy 7.4.x, upgrade to 7.4.8 or later. For FortiProxy 7.6.x, upgrade to 7.6.2 or l
  4. 4. Download the firmware upgrade from the Fortinet Customer Support portal: https://support.fortinet.com/
  5. 5. Upload and install the firmware upgrade following Fortinet's standard upgrade procedure.
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed: `get system status`
  7. 7. Verify the fix by confirming the attack vector (Node.js websocket module privilege escalation) is no longer exploitable.
Caveat Review Fortinet release notes for the target version to check for configuration or feature changes before upgrading; always backup configuration before upgrading

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

Fix this in Fortios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-22254 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-22254 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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