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ForticlientApplication · Fortinet

CVE-2025-54660

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.2.11 / 7.4.4 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 active debug code vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientWindows 7.4.0 through 7.4.3, FortiClientWindows 7.2.0 through 7.2.10, FortiClientWindows 7.0 all versions may allow a local attacker to run the application step by step and retrieve the saved VPN user password

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 · moderate confidence

A debug feature was left enabled in production builds of FortiClientWindows versions 7.0.x, 7.2.0-7.2.10, and 7.4.0-7.4.3, allowing a local attacker with debugger access to step through application execution and extract stored VPN credentials from memory or configuration.

MitigationUpgrade FortiClientWindows to version 7.4.4 or later (7.4.x), 7.2.11 or later (7.2.x), or 7.0.11 or later (7.0.x) to remove the debug code and protect saved VPN passwords.

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:>= 7.0.0, < 7.2.11>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Locate FortiClientWindows installation directory
    Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files\Fortinet\FortiClient or C:\Program Files (x86)\Fortinet\FortiClient. Alternatively, open PowerShell and run Get-ChildItem 'C:\Program Files*\Fortinet\FortiClient' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Affected if The FortiClient directory exists on the system
  2. Determine installed FortiClient version
    Within the FortiClient installation directory, locate a file named version.ini, version.txt, or right-click the FortiClient.exe file, select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab
    Affected if The version number falls within 7.0.x, 7.2.0-7.2.10, or 7.4.0-7.4.3 (or is below 7.0.11, 7.2.11, or 7.4.4 respectively)
  3. Check for saved VPN credentials
    Examine the FortiClient configuration directory (typically in %APPDATA%\Fortinet\FortiClient\ or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Fortinet\FortiClient\) for files such as vpn_profiles.ini, FortiClient.xml, or .dat files that may contain stored username/password entries for VPN connections
    Affected if Saved VPN profiles or credentials are found in the FortiClient configuration folder, indicating credentials could potentially be extracted via debugger access
  4. Verify if debugger can attach to FortiClient process
    Open Windows Task Manager, locate a running FortiClient.exe process, and attempt to attach a debugger (such as x64dbg or WinDbg) to the process. If the attachment succeeds without errors, the debug capability exists
    Affected if Debugger attachment completes successfully, confirming the debug feature is present and accessible in this production build

A system is affected if FortiClientWindows version is 7.0.x, 7.2.0-7.2.10, or 7.4.0-7.4.3 (or any version below 7.0.11, 7.2.11, or 7.4.4) and the system has saved VPN credentials that could be extracted through debugger access.

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 7.2.11 / 7.4.4 or later
Fixed in 7.2.117.4.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade FortiClientWindows to version 7.4.4 or later (7.4.x), 7.2.11 or later (7.2.x), or 7.0.11 or later (7.0.x) to remove the debug code and protect saved VPN passwords.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiClient 7.2.11 or 7.4.4 (depending on which branch you are on)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed FortiClient version from Add/Remove Programs or the FortiClient application.
  2. 2. For FortiClient 7.0.x users: Plan upgrade to version 7.2.11 or 7.4.4 (7.0.x branch has no fix).
  3. 3. For FortiClient 7.2.0-7.2.10 users: Download FortiClient version 7.2.11 from Fortinet support portal.
  4. 4. For FortiClient 7.4.0-7.4.3 users: Download FortiClient version 7.4.4 from Fortinet support portal.
  5. 5. Backup existing FortiClient VPN configurations if needed.
  6. 6. Uninstall the current FortiClient version.
  7. 7. Install the updated FortiClient version (7.2.11 or 7.4.4).
  8. 8. Reconfigure VPN connections and verify functionality.
Caveat Ensure VPN configuration compatibility with the new version; test thoroughly before production deployment

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

Fix this in Forticlient Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,380
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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-2025-54660 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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