Security Resilience

CVE-2023-50176

Auth Bypass in Fortinet Fortios 7.0.0 – 7.0.14

Auth Bypass
Published
12 November 2024
Modified
24 August 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 4.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0040 33th percentile
Risk Priority 36 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-50176 is a medium-severity Session Fixation (CWE-384) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios. Its CVSS base score is 4.2 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked at the 33th 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 SC-23 (Session Authenticity) and AC-12 (Session Termination) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A07:2025 Authentication Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A session fixation vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.4.0 through 7.4.3, FortiOS 7.2.0 through 7.2.7, FortiOS 7.0.0 through 7.0.13 allows attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via phishing SAML authentication link.

CWE(s)
CWE-384

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.005 VNC Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-42785Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-42786Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-48784Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2025-64157Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2025-47295Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2026-22153Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-23110Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-46720Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-29182Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2025-55018Same product: Fortinet Fortios

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortios
7.0.0 — 7.0.14 · 7.2.0 — 7.2.8 · 7.4.0 — 7.4.4

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)
  • V4.4.4
  • V7.6.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SC-23 Session Authenticity good match

Requires protection of session authenticity, which directly stops an attacker from using a stolen or fixed session identifier after authentication.

AC-12 Session Termination partial match

Limits the lifetime of any session (fixed or not), thereby reducing the window during which a stolen identifier remains usable.

AC-3 Access Enforcement partial match

Enforces that only properly authorized (i.e., freshly authenticated) sessions can access resources, making a pre-existing fixed session ID unusable.

IA-11 Re-authentication partial match

Forces re-authentication under defined conditions, which should result in issuance of a fresh session identifier and invalidation of any prior one.

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-01 partial match
blocks

Managing identities and credentials includes handling session identifiers as temporary credentials that must be invalidated on re-authentication.

PR.AA-03 partial match
blocks

Proper authentication processes must invalidate prior session identifiers to prevent fixation attacks.

PR.AA-04 partial match
blocks

Protecting and verifying identity assertions encompasses secure handling and regeneration of session tokens.

PR.PS-01 partial match
blocks

Configuration baselines can enforce session regeneration and timeout settings that block fixation.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References