Fortinet Warns of Severe SQLi Vulnerability in FortiClientEMS Software

2 months ago AndyC

Mar 14, 2024The Hacker NewsVulnerability / Network Security

Fortinet has warned of a critical security flaw impacting its FortiClientEMS software that could allow attackers to achieve code execution on affected systems.

Mar 14, 2024The Hacker NewsVulnerability / Network Security

Fortinet Warns of Severe SQLi Vulnerability in FortiClientEMS Software

Fortinet has warned of a critical security flaw impacting its FortiClientEMS software that could allow attackers to achieve code execution on affected systems.

“An improper neutralization of special elements used in an SQL Command (‘SQL Injection’) vulnerability [CWE-89] in FortiClientEMS may allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specifically crafted requests,” the company said in an advisory.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2023-48788, carries a CVSS rating of 9.3 out of a maximum of 10. It impacts the following versions –

FortiClientEMS 7.2.0 through 7.2.2 (Upgrade to 7.2.3 or above)
FortiClientEMS 7.0.1 through 7.0.10 (Upgrade to 7.0.11 or above)

Horizon3.ai, which plans to release additional technical details and a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit next week, said the shortcoming could be exploited to obtain remote code execution as SYSTEM on the server.

Fortinet has credited Thiago Santana From the ForticlientEMS development team and the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) for discovering and reporting the flaw.

Also fixed by the company two other critical bugs in FortiOS and FortiProxy (CVE-2023-42789 and CVE-2023-42790, CVSS scores: 9.3) that could permit an attacker with access to the captive portal to execute arbitrary code or commands via specially crafted HTTP requests.

The below product versions are impacted by the flaws –

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

While there is no evidence that the aforementioned flaws have come under active exploitation, unpatched Fortinet appliances have been repeatedly abused by threat actors, making it imperative that users move quickly to apply the updates.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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