Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-47542

Fortinet Fortimanager 7.0.0 – 7.0.11

Published
09 April 2024
Modified
17 January 2025
Patch / advisory
View 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 0.0027 19th percentile
Risk Priority 48 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-47542 is a medium-severity Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine (CWE-1336) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortimanager. Its CVSS base score is 6.7 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Template Injection (T1221); ranked at the 19th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine [CWE-1336] in FortiManager versions 7.4.1 and below, versions 7.2.4 and below, and 7.0.10 and below allows attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specially crafted templates.

CWE(s)
CWE-1336CWE-94

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1221 Template Injection Stealth
Adversaries may create or modify references in user document templates to conceal malicious code or force authentication attempts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.002 AppleScript Execution
Adversaries may abuse AppleScript for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
T1059.005 Visual Basic Execution
Adversaries may abuse Visual Basic (VB) for execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-21760Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2025-31365Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2023-45590Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2023-34990Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2023-25609Same product: Fortinet Fortimanager
CVE-2023-22642Same product: Fortinet Fortimanager
CVE-2023-27995Same vendor: Fortinet
CVE-2024-6386Shared CWE-1336, CWE-94
CVE-2024-45053Shared CWE-1336, CWE-94
CVE-2026-54653Shared CWE-1336, CWE-94

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortimanager
7.0.0 — 7.0.11 · 7.2.0 — 7.2.5 · 7.4.0 — 7.4.2

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)
  • V1.3.2
  • V1.3.7
  • V1.3.10
  • V1.3.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and static analysis can discover missing neutralization of template directives.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

Input validation rejects or sanitizes untrusted data before it reaches the template engine, stopping injection of special syntax.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

Least privilege limits the damage an injected code fragment can perform once executed.

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

Requiring documented secure development standards and tools enforces use of safe code-generation APIs and escaping.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Security engineering principles require use of safe templating APIs and proper escaping of external input.

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 SDLC practices directly require proper input neutralization in template engines to prevent injection.

PR.DS-10 none match
prevents

PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.

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 can detect template-injection flaws but does not itself implement neutralization controls.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and sanitization that directly prevents template-injection weaknesses.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for neutralizing special elements in template engines.

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

Secure architecture principles reduce the likelihood of unsafe template processing but do not prescribe specific neutralization techniques.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards require proper escaping or sandboxing of template directives, directly mitigating CWE-1336.

A.8.7 Protection against malware none match
none

Controls that restrict unauthorized or malicious code from being introduced via external networks or removable media limit opportunities for an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code.

References