Fortinet | Cybersecurity: The Latest CVE Vulnerability You Need to Know

CVE-2023-48788: The LatestFortinet Vulnerability

In recent developments, Fortinet has issuedwarnings regarding critical security vulnerabilities affecting itsFortiClientEMS software and other products. These vulnerabilities, if leftunaddressed, could lead to severe consequences, including unauthorized codeexecution and potential exploitation by threat actors. This article serves as acomprehensive guide to understanding these vulnerabilities and the necessarysteps to secure your Fortinet.

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Understanding CVE-2023-48788: The LatestFortinet Vulnerability

CVE-2023-48788 is a critical SQL injectionvulnerability discovered in Fortinet FortiClientEMS. According to Fortinet,exploitation of the vulnerability could allow remote attackers to executeunauthorized code or commands. This vulnerability has been assigned a CVSSscore of 9.3 out of 10, indicating its severity.

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FortiClientEMS Vulnerability: Fortinet has identified a critical security flaw in itsFortiClientEMS software, tracked as CVE-2023-48788, with a CVSS rating of 9.3out of 10. This vulnerability arises from an improper neutralization of specialSQL elements, potentially allowing unauthenticated attackers to executeunauthorized code or commands through crafted requests. Affected versionsinclude:

• FortiClientEMS7.2.0 through 7.2.2 (Upgrade to 7.2.3 or above)
• FortiClientEMS7.0.1 through 7.0.10 (Upgrade to 7.0.11 or above)

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What is SQL Injection?

SQL injection is a code injection techniquewhere malicious SQL statements are inserted into an entry field for execution,allowing attackers to gain access to your database. In this vulnerability,remote attackers may be able to access Fortinet's database server by injectingSQL commands into vulnerable HTML forms, queries, and APIs.

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How Does It Affect You?

If you're using an affected version ofFortiClientEMS, your systems and data may be at risk. Attackers could accessprivate customer information or use the vulnerability to distribute malware. Asa precaution, Fortinet recommends customers running affected versions toupgrade immediately to the fixed versions.

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Additional Vulnerabilities and Fixes: In addition to the FortiClientEMS vulnerability, Fortinet has alsoaddressed two other critical bugs affecting FortiOS and FortiProxy, tracked asCVE-2023-42789 and CVE-2023-42790, with CVSS scores of 9.3. Thesevulnerabilities could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or commands viaspecially crafted HTTP requests. Affected product versions and recommendedupgrades include:

• FortiOSversions 7.4.0 through 7.4.1 (Upgrade to 7.4.2 or above)
• FortiOSversions 7.2.0 through 7.2.5 (Upgrade to 7.2.6 or above)
• FortiOSversions 7.0.0 through 7.0.12 (Upgrade to 7.0.13 or above)
• FortiOSversions 6.4.0 through 6.4.14 (Upgrade to 6.4.15 or above)
• FortiOSversions 6.2.0 through 6.2.15 (Upgrade to 6.2.16 or above)
• FortiProxyversions 7.4.0 (Upgrade to 7.4.1 or above)
• FortiProxyversions 7.2.0 through 7.2.6 (Upgrade to 7.2.7 or above)
• FortiProxyversions 7.0.0 through 7.0.12 (Upgrade to 7.0.13 or above)
• FortiProxyversions 2.0.0 through 2.0.13 (Upgrade to 2.0.14 or above)

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‍Conclusion

While there is currently no evidence ofactive exploitation of these vulnerabilities, history has shown that unpatchedFortinet appliances are susceptible to exploitation by threat actors. It iscrucial for organizations to promptly apply the recommended updates to securetheir infrastructure and mitigate potential risks.

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