CVE-2022-42475
Memory Safety in Fortinet Fortios 5.0.0 – 5.0.14
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2022-42475 is a critical-severity Numeric Truncation Error (CWE-197) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Steganography (T1001.002); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the SSL-VPN components of FortiOS versions 7.2.0-7.2.2, 7.0.0-7.0.8, 6.4.0-6.4.10, 6.2.0-6.2.11, and 6.0.15 and earlier, as well as FortiProxy versions 7.2.0-7.2.1 and 7.0.7 and earlier. The flaw, tracked as CWE-122, permits remote attackers to supply specially crafted requests that corrupt heap memory.
An unauthenticated attacker with network access can exploit the issue to execute arbitrary code or commands on the affected device. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8, reflecting that no user interaction or credentials are required and that the impact spans confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Fortinet advisory FG-IR-22-398 recommends applying the vendor-supplied patches or upgrading to fixed releases. CISA has added the CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild. The associated EPSS score currently stands at 0.9401 with a peak of 0.9406, indicating sustained and substantial exploitation interest.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-45545
Vulnerability Data
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability [CWE-122] in FortiOS SSL-VPN 7.2.0 through 7.2.2, 7.0.0 through 7.0.8, 6.4.0 through 6.4.10, 6.2.0 through 6.2.11, 6.0.15 and earlier and FortiProxy SSL-VPN 7.2.0 through 7.2.1, 7.0.7 and earlier may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to…
more
execute arbitrary code or commands via specifically crafted requests.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 13 December 2022
Related Threats
Threat-Actor AttributionAI
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
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Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Out-of-bounds writes that corrupt control flow or inject shellcode are rendered non-executable by the same memory protections.
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.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.
Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.
Secure SDLC practices directly prevent truncation errors via reviews, static analysis, and safe type handling.
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.