Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-13374

Fortinet Fortiadc 5.4.0 – 5.4.5

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedRansomware-linked
Published
22 January 2019
Modified
13 August 2026
KEV Added
08 September 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.38 98th percentile
Risk Priority 75 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-13374 is a medium-severity Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (CWE-732) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortiadc. Its CVSS base score is 4.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2018-13374 is an improper access control vulnerability (CWE-732) affecting Fortinet FortiOS versions 6.0.2, 5.6.7 and earlier as well as FortiADC versions 6.1.0, 6.0.0–6.0.1, and 5.4.0–5.4.4. The flaw resides in the LDAP server connectivity test functionality and permits an authenticated user to obtain the login credentials configured for an LDAP server in FortiGate by redirecting the test request to an attacker-controlled rogue LDAP server.

An attacker with low privileges can exploit the issue over the network with low attack complexity. By supplying a malicious LDAP server address during the connectivity test, the attacker receives the clear-text credentials that FortiGate would otherwise use to bind to the legitimate LDAP directory, resulting in partial disclosure of sensitive configuration data without requiring user interaction.

The FortiGuard advisory FG-IR-18-157 addresses the issue and is referenced in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating confirmed in-the-wild exploitation. Organizations are advised to apply the patches or configuration updates published in the advisory to prevent credential exposure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A Improper Access Control in Fortinet FortiOS 6.0.2, 5.6.7 and before, FortiADC 6.1.0, 6.0.0 to 6.0.1, 5.4.0 to 5.4.4 allows attacker to obtain the LDAP server login credentials configured in FortiGate via pointing a LDAP server connectivity test request to…

more

a rogue LDAP server instead of the configured one.

CWE(s)
CWE-732
KEV Date Added
08 September 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.
attack.mitre.org →
T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1505.005 Terminal Services DLL Persistence
Adversaries may abuse components of Terminal Services to enable persistent access to systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-68686Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2019-6693Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2020-12812Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2019-5591Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2021-44168Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2022-41328Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2025-57741Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2018-13382Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2025-24472Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2018-13383Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortiadc
6.1.0 · 5.4.0 — 5.4.5 · 6.0.0 — 6.0.2
fortinet
fortios
≤ 6.0.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

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Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 7 hardening rules · 4 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

AC-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-732

Procedures support proper permission assignment for critical resources through documented controls.

AC-16 Security and Privacy Attributes
addresses: CWE-732

Attribute management for resources provides a mechanism to assign and maintain correct permissions based on security labels.

AC-6 Least Privilege
addresses: CWE-732

Prevents overly permissive assignments to critical resources by limiting to task needs.

AT-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-732

Training policy covers correct permission assignment, reducing the ability to exploit incorrect permission assignments for critical resources.

AT-3 Role-based Training
addresses: CWE-732

Training on permission management reduces incorrect permission assignments for critical resources.

AU-9 Protection of Audit Information
addresses: CWE-732

Audit logs and logging tools are critical resources whose protection requires correct permission assignments to block unauthorized actions.

CA-2 Control Assessments
addresses: CWE-732

Assessments review permission assignments on critical resources to confirm correctness, mitigating exploitation via incorrect permissions.

CA-4 Security Certification
addresses: CWE-732

Certification includes checking that permissions on critical resources are correctly assigned.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.AA-05 full match
prevents

Directly requires defining, enforcing, and reviewing access permissions and least privilege on resources.

PR.PS-01 mostly match
prevents

Hardened baselines and configuration management explicitly include correct permission settings for critical resources.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.15 Access control mostly match
prevents

By requiring owners to determine and document the exact permissions needed for each asset, the control reduces the likelihood that default or overly permissive file and resource permissions will be left in place.

A.5.18 Access rights mostly match
prevents

Documented provisioning and revocation procedures reduce the chance that critical resources retain overly permissive default or leftover permissions after personnel changes.

A.8.2 Privileged access rights mostly match
prevents

Documented authorization, expiry rules, and audit logging of privileged accounts make it harder for critical resources to retain overly permissive or stale permission assignments.

A.8.3 Information access restriction mostly match
prevents

Requiring explicit configuration of access controls and permissions for files, applications and services counters the assignment of overly permissive default or incorrect file-system rights.

A.8.4 Access to source code mostly match
prevents

Enforcing differentiated permissions on the source-code repository and program listings stops the assignment of overly broad default or inherited permissions to critical resources.

A.8.9 Configuration management mostly match
prevents

By defining and enforcing secure permission settings in configuration templates, the control reduces the likelihood that critical resources receive incorrect permission assignments.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2016 (2 rules)
  • V-224972 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-224831 Local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2019 (2 rules)
  • V-205741 Windows Server 2019 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-205663 Windows Server 2019 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732
Windows Server 2022 (2 rules)
  • V-254393 Windows Server 2022 Active Directory Group Policy objects must have proper access control permissions. prevents CWE-732
  • V-254250 Windows Server 2022 local volumes must use a format that supports NTFS attributes. prevents CWE-732

References