Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-36633

Access Control in Fortinet Fortimail 6.0.0 – 7.0.6

Published
14 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.4
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:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0047 38th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-36633 is a medium-severity Improper Authorization (CWE-285) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortimail. Its CVSS base score is 5.4 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Credentials In Files (T1552.001); ranked at the 38th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An improper authorization vulnerability [CWE-285] in FortiMail webmail version 7.2.0 through 7.2.2 and before 7.0.5 allows an authenticated attacker to see and modify the title of address book folders of other users via crafted HTTP or HTTPs requests.

CWE(s)

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.
T1552.004 Private Keys Credential Access
Adversaries may search for private key certificate files on compromised systems for insecurely stored credentials.
T1574.005 Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by an installer.
T1574.010 Services File Permissions Weakness Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking the binaries used by services.
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.
T1505.005 Terminal Services DLL Persistence
Adversaries may abuse components of Terminal Services to enable persistent access to systems.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-36556Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2023-47539Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2024-46663Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2025-53681Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2025-54972Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2023-36637Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2023-45582Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2023-33302Same product: Fortinet Fortimail
CVE-2018-13374Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2023-22636Same vendor: Fortinet

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortimail
6.0.0 — 7.0.6 · 7.2.0 — 7.2.3

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 13 hardening rules · 6 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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-285 CWE-732

Documented procedures facilitate correct implementation and ongoing management of authorization decisions.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-732

Establishing permitted attributes and values, plus auditing changes, ensures authorization decisions are based on correctly managed policy data.

addresses: CWE-732 CWE-285

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

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-732

Role-based training addresses authorization requirements and checks, lowering the risk of improper authorization.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-732

The process verifies authorization mechanisms function as intended before system approval.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-732

Documenting access to processing and storage locations helps ensure correct authorization for information resources.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-732

Mandates explicit authorization and approval for configuration-controlled changes with security considerations.

addresses: CWE-285 CWE-732

Evaluating change impacts helps avoid deployment of incorrect or missing authorization logic.

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.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices catch and eliminate most authorization defects before release, yet a single broad outcome cannot address every design, role, and runtime facet of CWE-285.

PR.AA-01 partial match
prevents

PR.AA-01 supplies managed identities and access-request workflows that can support downstream authorization decisions, yet does nothing to enforce or verify authorization checks inside a product, leaving CWE-285 fully unaddressed by this control alone.

PR.IR-01 partial match
prevents

Network segmentation/zero-trust limits external reachability (partial prevention of exploitation) but leaves application-level authorization logic untouched, so the CWE remains fully introducible and only one facet of its risk is addressed.

PR.PS-05 none match
prevents

PR.PS-05 blocks unauthorized binaries/DNS while CWE-285 is an in-product authorization-check defect, so the control neither prevents the weakness nor removes any of its risk.

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.

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.

prevents

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

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.

prevents

Granular, policy-driven assignment of permissions and dynamic enforcement of those permissions prevent the incorrect or missing authorization decisions that lead to improper authorization flaws.

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.

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 (3 rules)
  • V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-285
  • V-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-732
  • V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-285
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
  • V-204429 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-285
  • V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-285
  • V-251704 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-285
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-285
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