Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2024-52965 is a high-severity Missing Critical Step in Authentication (CWE-304) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 17th 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 IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) and IA-5 (Authenticator Management) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-54757
Vulnerability Data
A missing critical step in authentication vulnerability [CWE-304] in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, 7.4.0 through 7.4.5, 7.2.0 through 7.2.10, and before 7.0.16 & FortiProxy version 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, 7.4.0 through 7.4.8, 7.2.0 through 7.2.13 and before 7.0.20 allows…
more
an API-user using api-key + PKI user certificate authentication to login even if the certificate is invalid.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
- 6 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
V7.2.4
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
IA-2 requires unique identification and authentication of users, directly mandating that all critical authentication steps be performed rather than skipped.
IA-8 requires unique identification and authentication of non-organizational users, ensuring the full authentication process is executed without missing steps.
IA-5 enforces proper authenticator lifecycle steps (verification, distribution, revocation) so that no required step in the authentication technique is omitted.
AC-3 enforces access decisions only after approved authentication has completed, making skipped authentication steps ineffective.
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.
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.
Mandates secure authentication mechanisms, explicitly addressing missing steps in authentication flows.
Directly requires secure management of authentication credentials and processes, preventing skipped critical steps.
Secure development lifecycle can catch missing auth steps during design, but does not directly enforce runtime authentication.
Application security requirements may specify complete auth flows, but the control itself is broader.
Secure coding practices can prevent missing auth steps, yet the control is not specific to authentication.
Limits access based on proper authentication; incomplete auth weakens the restriction.
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).
RHEL 7 (2 rules)
- V-204425 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that the SSH daemon does not allow authentication using an empty password. prevents CWE-304
- V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. prevents CWE-304
Ubuntu 22.04 (1 rule)
- V-260470 Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, when booted, must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. prevents CWE-304