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FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2025-53744

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4.8 / 7.6.3 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 incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability [CWE-266] in FortiOS Security Fabric version 7.6.0 through 7.6.2, 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 6.4 all versions, may allow a remote authenticated attacker with high privileges to escalate their privileges to super-admin via registering the device to a malicious FortiManager.

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

FortiOS contains an incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability where an authenticated attacker with high privileges can escalate to super-admin by registering the device to a malicious FortiManager. The Security Fabric improperly grants elevated privileges during the FortiManager registration process.

MitigationUpgrade FortiOS to version 7.6.3 or later (for 7.6.x), 7.4.8 or later (for 7.4.x), or 7.2.10 or later (for 7.2.x), or 7.0.16 or later (for 7.0.x), or 6.4.18 or later (for 6.4.x) to remediate this vulnerability.

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, < 7.4.8>= 7.6.0, < 7.6.3

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. Check FortiOS version
    Run 'get system status' or 'fwm -c --ver' command in FortiOS CLI to retrieve the installed firmware version
    Affected if Version is >= 6.4.0 and < 7.4.8, OR >= 7.6.0 and < 7.6.3
  2. Verify FortiManager registration status
    Run 'get fmupdate avgater' or 'get system central-management' in FortiOS CLI to check if the device is registered to a FortiManager
    Affected if Device shows registration to a FortiManager (especially untrusted or external FortiManager)
  3. Check Security Fabric configuration
    Run 'get system csf' in FortiOS CLI to display Security Fabric settings and FortiManager connection details
    Affected if Security Fabric is enabled with FortiManager integration pointing to an untrusted or external manager

Device is affected if running FortiOS within the vulnerable version ranges AND is registered to any FortiManager via Security Fabric, as the privilege escalation occurs during the FortiManager registration process.

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 7.4.8 / 7.6.3 or later
Fixed in 7.4.87.6.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiOS to version 7.6.3 or later (for 7.6.x), 7.4.8 or later (for 7.4.x), or 7.2.10 or later (for 7.2.x), or 7.0.16 or later (for 7.0.x), or 6.4.18 or later (for 6.4.x) to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiOS 7.4.8 or later; FortiOS 7.6.3 or later

  1. Backup the current FortiOS configuration via GUI or CLI (execute backup config)
  2. Download the fixed FortiOS firmware (7.4.8 or later for the 7.4.x branch, 7.6.3 or later for the 7.6.x branch) from the Fortinet Support Portal
  3. Upload the firmware image via FortiOS GUI (System > Firmware) or CLI (execute upgrade system firmware)
  4. Reboot the FortiOS device to complete the firmware installation
  5. After reboot, verify the device is running the patched version using 'get system status'
  6. Ensure the FortiManager registration uses an authorized, trusted FortiManager device to prevent the privilege escalation vector

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
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,440
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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-2025-53744 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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