Security Resilience

CVE-2024-21754

Crypto Weakness in Fortinet Fortiproxy 2.0.0 – 2.0.14

Crypto Weakness
Published
11 June 2024
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 1.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.035 89th percentile
Risk Priority 26 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-2024-21754 is a low-severity Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort (CWE-916) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortiproxy. Its CVSS base score is 1.8 (Low).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Password Cracking (T1110.002); ranked in the top 11% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-13 (Cryptographic Protection) and IA-5 (Authenticator Management) — 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.

A use of password hash with insufficient computational effort vulnerability, tracked as CWE-916, affects FortiOS versions 7.4.3 and below along with all versions of 7.2, 7.0, and 6.4, as well as FortiProxy versions 7.4.2 and below along with all versions of 7.2, 7.0, and 2.0. The flaw resides in the handling of backup file encryption and carries a CVSS score of 1.8.

A privileged attacker who already possesses a super-admin profile and CLI access can exploit the weakness to decrypt a backup file. The attack requires local access, high attack complexity, high privileges, and user interaction, limiting its scope to information disclosure without direct impact on integrity or availability.

Fortinet has published advisory FG-IR-23-423 detailing the issue for affected FortiOS and FortiProxy deployments. The EPSS score remains low, with a current value of 0.0490 and a peak of 0.0571.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A04:2025 Cryptographic Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A use of password hash with insufficient computational effort vulnerability [CWE-916] affecting FortiOS version 7.4.3 and below, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 6.4 all versions and FortiProxy version 7.4.2 and below, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 2.0 all…

more

versions may allow a privileged attacker with super-admin profile and CLI access to decrypting the backup file.

CWE(s)
CWE-916

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1110.002 Password Cracking Credential Access
Adversaries may use password cracking to attempt to recover usable credentials, such as plaintext passwords, when credential material such as password hashes are obtained.
attack.mitre.org →
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 →
T1003.004 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 →
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
attack.mitre.org →
T1008 Fallback Channels Command And Control
Adversaries may use fallback or alternate communication channels if the primary channel is compromised or inaccessible in order to maintain reliable command and control and to avoid data transfer thresholds.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-33308Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2025-25253Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-29183Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-23111Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2024-26006Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2018-13379Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-29179Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-29180Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-33306Same product: Fortinet Fortios
CVE-2023-33307Same product: Fortinet Fortios

Affected Assets

fortinet
fortiproxy
2.0.0 — 2.0.14 · 7.0.0 — 7.0.18 · 7.2.0 — 7.2.11
fortinet
fortios
6.4.0 — 6.4.15 · 7.0.0 — 7.0.15 · 7.2.0 — 7.2.9

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)
  • V11.4.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SC-13 Cryptographic Protection good match

Cryptographic protection mandates selection and use of approved algorithms whose parameters can include sufficient work factors for password hashing.

IA-5 Authenticator Management partial match

Authenticator management requires secure generation, distribution, and storage of passwords, directly enforcing computationally expensive hashing schemes.

SC-28 Protection of Information at Rest partial match

Protection of information at rest requires cryptographic safeguards on stored password hashes, reducing exposure to offline cracking.

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-03 partial match
blocks

Authentication policies may reference password handling but do not address storage or computational cost of hashes.

PR.DS-01 partial match
blocks

Proper password hashing is a direct instance of using cryptographic hashes to protect data-at-rest.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure development practices explicitly include selection and configuration of strong, computationally expensive password hashes.

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.5.17 Authentication information partial match
degrades

Requires secure handling of authentication information, which includes choosing strong password hashing schemes.

A.8.24 Use of cryptography partial match
blocks

Requires appropriate use of cryptography, which encompasses selecting strong hashing algorithms for passwords.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
removes
A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
removes
A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding practices include implementing password storage with adequate computational effort.

A.8.5 Secure authentication partial match
degrades

Mandates secure authentication mechanisms, directly addressing the need for computationally strong password hashes.

References