Multiple Vulnerabilities in Fortinet Products Could Allow for Remote Code Execution

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered Fortinet Products, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution.

• FortiManager is a network and security management tool that provides centralized management of Fortinet devices from a single console.
• FortiManager Cloud is a cloud-based service for centralized management, monitoring, and automation of Fortinet devices across multiple sites
• FortiOS is the Fortinet’s proprietary Operation System which is utilized across multiple product lines.
• FortiProxy is a secure web gateway that attempts to protects users against internet-borne attacks, and provides protection and visibility to the network against unauthorized access and threats.
• FortiAnalyzer is a log management, analytics, and reporting platform that provides organizations with a single console to manage, automate, orchestrate, and respond, enabling simplified security operations, proactive identification and remediation of risks, and complete visibility of the entire attack landscape..
• FortiSandbox 5.0 is a security solution that utilizes a combination of AI/ML, static, and dynamic analysis, inline blocking, and scalable virtual environments to identify, analyze, contextualize, prioritize, and protect against advanced threats in real-time.
• FortiPAM provides privileged account management, session monitoring and management, and role-based access control to secure access to sensitive assets and mitigate data breaches.
• FortiNDR is Fortinet's AI-driven Network Detection and Response (NDR) solution.
• FortiWeb is a web application firewall (WAF) that protects web applications and APIs from attacks that target known and unknown exploits and helps maintain compliance with regulations.
• FortiSIEM is a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution from Fortinet that provides real-time infrastructure and user awareness for accurate threat detection, analysis, and reporting.
• FortiIsolator is a Fortinet browser isolation solution that protects users from web-borne threats by creating a visual air gap between users' browsers and websites, executing web content in a remote, disposable container.
• Fortimail is like a Swiss army knife for email, consisting of anti-spam, anti-virus, content filtering, DLP and email archiving.
• FortiClient is a Fabric Agent that delivers protection, compliance, and secure access in a single, modular lightweight client.
• FortiADC is an application delivery controller (ADC) with advanced security features that help ensure application security, availability, and optimization, 

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for remote code execution in the context of the affected service account. Depending on the privileges associated with the service account an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Service accounts that are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Fortinet products, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution. Details of the vulnerabilities are as follows:

Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001):

Technique: Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190):

• A cross site request forgery vulnerability in FortiNDR may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized actions via crafted HTTP GET requests. (CVE-2023-48790)
• An exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor vulnerability in FortiSIEM may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker who acquired knowledge of the agent's authorization header by other means to read the database password via crafted api requests. (CVE-2023-40723)
• An incorrect authorization vulnerability in FortiSandbox may allow a low priviledged administrator to execute elevated CLI commands via the GUI console menu. (CVE-2024-45328)
• Multiple improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerabilities in FortiIsolator may allow an authenticated attacker with at least read-only admin permission and CLI access to execute unauthorized code via specifically crafted CLI commands. (CVE-2024-55590)
• A use of externally-controlled format string vulnerability in FortiOS, FortiProxy, FortiPAM, FortiSRA and FortiWeb may allow a privileged attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specially crafted HTTP or HTTPS commands. (CVE-2024-45324)
• An improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS Command vulnerability in FortiSandbox may allow an authenticated attacker with at least read-only permission to execute unauthorized commands via crafted requests. (CVE-2024-52961)
• A Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key vulnerability in FortiSandbox may allow a privileged attacker with super-admin profile and CLI access to read sensitive data via CLI. (CVE-2024-54027)
• An improper neutralization of input during web page generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in FortiADC GUI may allow an authenticated attacker to perform an XSS attack via crafted HTTP or HTTPs requests. (CVE-2023-37933)

Details of lower severity vulnerabilities:

• An Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in FortiWeb API endpoint may allow an authenticated attacker with admin privileges to access and modify the filesystem. (CVE-2024-55597)
• An incorrect authorization vulnerability in FortiSIEM may allow an authenticated attacker to perform unauthorized operations on incidents via crafted HTTP requests. (CVE-2024-55592)
• Two improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager & FortiAnalyzer-BigData may allow a privileged attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specifically crafted CLI requests. (CVE-2024-33501)
• A client-side enforcement of server-side security vulnerability in FortiSandbox may allow an authenticated attacker with at least read-only permission to execute unauthorized commands via crafted requests. (CVE-2024-52960)
• Multiple improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS Command vulnerabilities in FortiSandbox may allow a privileged attacker to execute unauthorized commands via crafted requests. (CVE-2024-54018)
• Multiple improper neutralization of special elements used in an OS command ('OS Command Injection') vulnerabilities in FortiManager CLI may allow a privileged attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via crafted CLI requests. (CVE-2024-32123)
• A stack-buffer overflow vulnerability in FortiMail CLI may allow a privileged attacker to execute arbitrary code or commands via specifically crafted CLI commands. (CVE-2024-46663)
• Two improper handling of syntactically invalid structure vulnerabilities in FortiWeb may allow an unauthenticated attacker to bypass web firewall protections via HTTP/S crafted requests. (CVE-2023-42784, CVE-2024-55594)
• An improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') vulnerability in FortiSandbox may allow a privileged attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specifically crafted HTTP requests. (CVE-2024-54026)

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to execute remote code in the context of the system. Depending on the privileges associated with the service account an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Service accounts that are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

We recommend the following actions be taken:

• Apply appropriate updates provided by Fortinet to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)
• Safeguard 7.1 : Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
• Safeguard 7.2: Establish and Maintain a Remediation Process: Establish and maintain a risk-based remediation strategy documented in a remediation process, with monthly, or more frequent, reviews.
• Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
• Safeguard 7.5 : Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Internal Enterprise Assets: Perform automated vulnerability scans of internal enterprise assets on a quarterly, or more frequent, basis. Conduct both authenticated and unauthenticated scans, using a SCAP-compliant vulnerability scanning tool.
• Safeguard 7.7: Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.
• Safeguard 12.1: Ensure Network Infrastructure is Up-to-Date: Ensure network infrastructure is kept up-to-date. Example implementations include running the latest stable release of software and/or using currently supported network-as-a-service (NaaS) offerings. Review software versions monthly, or more frequently, to verify software support.
• Safeguard 18.1: Establish and Maintain a Penetration Testing Program: Establish and maintain a penetration testing program appropriate to the size, complexity, and maturity of the enterprise. Penetration testing program characteristics include scope, such as network, web application, Application Programming Interface (API), hosted services, and physical premise controls; frequency; limitations, such as acceptable hours, and excluded attack types; point of contact information; remediation, such as how findings will be routed internally; and retrospective requirements.
• Safeguard 18.2: Perform Periodic External Penetration Tests: Perform periodic external penetration tests based on program requirements, no less than annually. External penetration testing must include enterprise and environmental reconnaissance to detect exploitable information. Penetration testing requires specialized skills and experience and must be conducted through a qualified party. The testing may be clear box or opaque box.
• Safeguard 18.3: Remediate Penetration Test Findings: Remediate penetration test findings based on the enterprise’s policy for remediation scope and prioritization.

• Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026: Privileged Account Management)
• Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.
• Safeguard 5.5: Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Accounts: Establish and maintain an inventory of service accounts. The inventory, at a minimum, must contain department owner, review date, and purpose. Perform service account reviews to validate that all active accounts are authorized, on a recurring schedule at a minimum quarterly, or more frequently.

• Vulnerability scanning is used to find potentially exploitable software vulnerabilities to remediate them. (M1016: Vulnerability Scanning)
• Safeguard 16.13: Conduct Application Penetration Testing: Conduct application penetration testing. For critical applications, authenticated penetration testing is better suited to finding business logic vulnerabilities than code scanning and automated security testing. Penetration testing relies on the skill of the tester to manually manipulate an application as an authenticated and unauthenticated user.

• Architect sections of the network to isolate critical systems, functions, or resources. Use physical and logical segmentation to prevent access to potentially sensitive systems and information. Use a DMZ to contain any internet-facing services that should not be exposed from the internal network. Configure separate virtual private cloud (VPC) instances to isolate critical cloud systems. (M1030: Network Segmentation)
• Safeguard 12.2: Establish and Maintain a Secure Network Architecture: Establish and maintain a secure network architecture. A secure network architecture must address segmentation, least privilege, and availability, at a minimum.
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• Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050: Exploit Protection)
• Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Microsoft® Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Windows® Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG), or Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.