I woke by 5 am to this FortiGate Vulnerability

What is a vulnerability?

A vulnerability is a weakness or flaw in a system or application that can be exploited by attackers to compromise the security of the system or gain unauthorized access to sensitive information. Vulnerabilities can exist in software, hardware, networks, or even in human behavior.

Vulnerabilities can be caused by a variety of factors, such as coding errors, design flaws, configuration mistakes, or even social engineering tactics. Once a vulnerability is identified, attackers can use it to launch attacks such as denial-of-service attacks, data theft, or malware infections.

It is important for organizations and individuals to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities to protect themselves from potential cyberattacks. This can be done by implementing security best practices, regularly updating software and systems, and conducting vulnerability assessments and penetration testing.

The FortiGate vulnerability

Overview

Fortinet has released fixes to address 15 security flaws, including one critical vulnerability impacting FortiOS and FortiProxy that could enable a threat actor to take control of affected systems.

The issue tracked as CVE-2023–25610, is rated 9.3 out of 10 for severity and was internally discovered and reported by its security teams.

- “A buffer underwrite (‘buffer underflow’) vulnerability in FortiOS administrative interface may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on the device and/or perform a DoS on the GUI, via specifically crafted requests,” Fortinet said in an advisory.

- Underflow bugs, also called buffer underruns, occur when the input data is shorter than the reserved space, causing unpredictable behavior or leakage of sensitive data from memory.

Other possible consequences include memory corruption that could either be weaponized to induce a crash or execute arbitrary code.

Fortinet said it’s not aware of any malicious exploitation attempts against the flaw. But given that prior flaws in software have come under active abuse in the wild, it’s essential that users move quickly to apply the patches.

Affected Products

FortiOS version 7.2.0 through 7.2.3

FortiOS version 7.0.0 through 7.0.9

FortiOS version 6.4.0 through 6.4.11

FortiOS version 6.2.0 through 6.2.12

FortiOS 6.0 all versions

Fixes

Upgrade to FortiOS versions 7.2.4, and 7.4.0

Sebastine Recommendation

I am recommending you disable the HTTP/HTTPS administrative interface or limit IP addresses that can reach it.