Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-41328

Path Traversal in Fortinet Fortios 6.0.0 – 6.0.16

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPath Traversal
Published
07 March 2023
Modified
24 October 2025
KEV Added
14 March 2023
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.7
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.12 96th percentile
Risk Priority 76 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-41328 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios. Its CVSS base score is 6.7 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 4% 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-2022-41328 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) present in Fortinet FortiOS versions 7.2.0 through 7.2.3, 7.0.0 through 7.0.9, and all releases prior to 6.4.11. The flaw resides in the CLI handling logic and permits improper pathname resolution that bypasses directory restrictions on the underlying Linux filesystem.

A privileged attacker with administrative CLI access can supply crafted commands to read or write arbitrary files. Successful exploitation grants the ability to modify system configuration, access sensitive data, or potentially escalate privileges on the affected FortiOS device.

Fortinet advisory FG-IR-22-369 addresses the issue and recommends applying the fixed releases listed in the bulletin. The vulnerability also appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, indicating confirmed in-the-wild use.

EPSS for the CVE rose sharply from a low baseline to a peak of 0.3074 on 2023-03-15 shortly after public disclosure before receding to its current value of 0.0022, indicating a transient but notable surge in exploitation interest.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory vulnerability ('path traversal') [CWE-22] in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.2.0 through 7.2.3, 7.0.0 through 7.0.9 and before 6.4.11 allows a privileged attacker to read and write files on the underlying Linux…

more

system via crafted CLI commands.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
14 March 2023

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2018-13379Same product: Fortinet Fortiosboth on KEV
CVE-2025-61624Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-48884Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-21753Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2019-19781Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV
CVE-2019-11510Same product class: VPN / SSL gatewayboth on KEV
CVE-2025-54659Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2024-36508Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2024-2552Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway
CVE-2023-34298Same product class: VPN / SSL gateway

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortios
6.0.0 — 6.0.16 · 6.2.0 — 6.2.14 · 6.4.0 — 6.4.12

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

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.

addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

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.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

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.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References