Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-42789

Memory Safety in Fortinet Fortios 6.2.0 – 6.2.15

Memory Safety
Published
12 March 2024
Modified
08 July 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.033 87th percentile
Risk Priority 86 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-42789 is a critical-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 13% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

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-2023-42789 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability, tracked under CWE-787, that affects multiple versions of Fortinet FortiOS (7.4.0 through 7.4.1, 7.2.0 through 7.2.5, 7.0.0 through 7.0.12, 6.4.0 through 6.4.14, and 6.2.0 through 6.2.15) as well as FortiProxy (7.4.0, 7.2.0 through 7.2.6, 7.0.0 through 7.0.12, and 2.0.0 through 2.0.13). The flaw carries a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 and permits execution of unauthorized code or commands when the affected devices process specially crafted HTTP requests.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue over the network without user interaction by sending malicious HTTP requests that trigger the out-of-bounds write, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the target device.

The Fortinet advisory FG-IR-23-328, referenced at fortiguard.com/psirt/FG-IR-23-328, supplies official guidance on mitigation and available patches for the listed FortiOS and FortiProxy releases. The associated EPSS score has remained near its observed peak of 0.3002 with a current value of 0.2828.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.4.0 through 7.4.1, FortiOS 7.2.0 through 7.2.5, FortiOS 7.0.0 through 7.0.12, FortiOS 6.4.0 through 6.4.14, FortiOS 6.2.0 through 6.2.15, FortiProxy 7.4.0, FortiProxy 7.2.0 through 7.2.6, FortiProxy 7.0.0 through 7.0.12, FortiProxy 2.0.0 through 2.0.13,…

more

FortiSASE 23.2.b allows attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specially crafted HTTP requests.

CWE(s)
CWE-787

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-22639Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2018-13383Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-22640Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-21762Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-33308Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-52963Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-29182Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-46720Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-26010Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-23110Same product: Fortinet Fortios

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortiproxy
7.4.0 · 2.0.0 — 2.0.13 · 7.0.0 — 7.0.12 · 7.2.0 — 7.2.6
fortinet
fortios
7.4.0, 7.4.1 · 6.2.0 — 6.2.15 · 6.4.0 — 6.4.14 · 7.0.0 — 7.0.12

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Input validation can structurally reject or sanitize data that would otherwise trigger an out-of-bounds write.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability and blast radius of a successful out-of-bounds write.

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-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

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.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References