Skip to main content
Mallory
Mallory

Fortinet FortiOS/FortiSwitchManager Heap Buffer Overflow Enabling Remote Code Execution

FortiSwitchManagerFortinetFortiSandboxFortiOSbuffer-overflowFortiSASECWE-122CWE-918heap-overflownetwork-trafficunauthenticatedUDPvulnerabilitySSRFproxy
Updated January 13, 2026 at 07:19 PM2 sources
Fortinet FortiOS/FortiSwitchManager Heap Buffer Overflow Enabling Remote Code Execution

Get Ahead of Threats Like This

Know if you're exposed — before adversaries strike.

Fortinet disclosed a critical heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the cw_acd daemon affecting FortiOS and FortiSwitchManager, which can allow remote, unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code or commands via specially crafted network traffic. Impacted versions span multiple FortiOS branches (6.4 through 7.6), along with FortiSASE and FortiSwitchManager releases; Fortinet advised immediate upgrades (e.g., FortiOS 7.6.4+, 7.4.9+, 7.2.12+, 7.0.18+, 6.4.17+; FortiSwitchManager 7.2.7+ and 7.0.6+), and noted FortiSASE 25.2.b is remediated in 25.2.c. The issue was reported as discovered internally by Fortinet’s product security team, and public reporting indicated no CVE was initially listed at publication time.

Separately, Fortinet also disclosed a low-severity SSRF in FortiSandbox tracked as CVE-2025-67685 (FG-IR-25-783), where an authenticated, high-privilege user can craft GUI-driven HTTP requests to proxy traffic to internal plaintext endpoints (CWE-918). While this SSRF could enable internal service exposure or pivoting in segmented environments, it requires privileged access and was not reported as actively exploited; Fortinet recommended upgrading FortiSandbox (e.g., 5.0.5+ for 5.0.0–5.0.4) and migrating off legacy 4.x branches. For the FortiOS/FortiSwitchManager RCE, interim mitigations included removing fabric access from interfaces and restricting CAPWAP-CONTROL (UDP 5246–5249) to trusted sources via local-in policies.

Related Entities

Organizations

Related Stories

Fortinet patches multiple vulnerabilities including FortiManager fgtupdates stack overflow enabling remote command execution

Fortinet patches multiple vulnerabilities including FortiManager fgtupdates stack overflow enabling remote command execution

**Fortinet** issued a broad security update addressing **11 vulnerabilities** across products including *FortiManager*, *FortiAnalyzer*, *FortiSwitch*, and *FortiSandbox*, spanning issues such as authentication weaknesses, buffer overflows, OS command injection, and SQL injection. The most operationally significant items include vulnerabilities that could enable **remote command execution** or privilege escalation in unpatched enterprise environments; one highlighted flaw is a stack-based buffer overflow in *FortiManager*’s `fgtupdates` service (**CVE-2025-54820**, Fortinet advisory **FG-IR-26-098**), which can be triggered via crafted requests when the service is enabled. Separate vendor advisories published around the same time cover unrelated products and should not be conflated with Fortinet’s update: **HPE Aruba** patched *AOS-CX* switch OS issues including a critical auth bypass (**CVE-2026-23813**) that can allow unauthenticated attackers to reset admin passwords via the web management interface, while **F5** published “not affected” notices for an **Apache Solr** input-validation issue in the “create core” API (**CVE-2026-22444**) that can lead to unauthorized filesystem path reads (and potential NTLM hash disclosure on Windows with UNC paths), and for an **Intel 800 Series Ethernet** Linux driver input-validation flaw (**CVE-2025-24325**) that may allow local privilege escalation on certain F5 appliance lines.

1 weeks ago
Fortinet Patches Multiple Vulnerabilities Across FortiClient and Other Products

Fortinet Patches Multiple Vulnerabilities Across FortiClient and Other Products

Fortinet released security updates addressing **22 vulnerabilities** across multiple products, including **FortiWeb**, **FortiSwitchAX**, **FortiManager**, and **FortiClient (Linux)**. The issues span multiple bug classes (e.g., **authentication bypass**, **heap-based buffer overflow**, and **cleartext storage of sensitive information**) and could enable outcomes such as security bypass, data tampering, denial-of-service, privilege escalation, information disclosure, and in some cases **unauthorized code/command execution**. Belgium’s CCB urged organizations to patch promptly and noted Fortinet reported **no evidence of active exploitation** at the time of the advisory. One of the patched flaws, **CVE-2026-24018** (CVSS **7.8**), was detailed by the **Zero Day Initiative (ZDI-26-186)** as a **local privilege escalation** vulnerability in *FortiClient*. ZDI reported the flaw stems from handling of certain shared objects: a local attacker with the ability to run low-privileged code can create a **symbolic link** to coerce a service into loading an arbitrary shared object, enabling execution of attacker-controlled code as **root**. Fortinet issued a fix and published vendor guidance under **FG-IR-26-083**.

6 days ago

Multiple Vulnerabilities in Fortinet Products Enable Arbitrary Code Execution and Information Disclosure

Several Fortinet products, including FortiWeb, FortiClient, FortiExtender, FortiMail, FortiPAM, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiVoice, FortiOS, and FortiProxy, have been found to contain multiple vulnerabilities, some of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. The most severe of these vulnerabilities, such as the FortiWeb RCE flaw (CVE-2025-58034), is under active exploitation and has been added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Additionally, a vulnerability in FortiClient for Windows involving active debug code could allow a local attacker to retrieve saved VPN user passwords, posing a significant risk of information disclosure. Security advisories urge organizations using affected Fortinet products to review available patches and mitigations immediately. The vulnerabilities impact a wide range of Fortinet's security and networking solutions, increasing the urgency for prompt remediation to prevent potential exploitation and compromise of sensitive assets.

3 months ago

Get Ahead of Threats Like This

Mallory continuously monitors global threat intelligence and correlates it with your attack surface. Know if you're exposed — before adversaries strike.