CVE-2025-52970
Published: 12 August 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-52970 is a high-severity Improper Handling of Parameters (CWE-233) vulnerability in Fortinet Fortiweb. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 3.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2025-52970 is an improper parameter handling flaw, tracked under CWE-233, that affects Fortinet FortiWeb web application firewalls in versions 7.6.3 and earlier, 7.4.7 and earlier, 7.2.10 and earlier, and 7.0.10 and earlier. The issue resides in the handling of specially crafted requests and can be triggered when an attacker possesses non-public device and user details.
An unauthenticated remote attacker who already holds limited target-specific information can exploit the flaw over the network to obtain administrative privileges on the device. The CVSS 8.1 rating reflects the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability despite the high attack complexity and lack of required credentials.
The Fortinet advisory FG-IR-25-448 recommends applying the vendor-supplied patches for the listed FortiWeb branches; no other mitigation steps are detailed in the reference materials.
EPSS for the CVE rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.4130 before settling at the current value of 0.3051, indicating that exploitation interest increased after public disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-24471
Vulnerability details
A improper handling of parameters in Fortinet FortiWeb versions 7.6.3 and below, versions 7.4.7 and below, versions 7.2.10 and below, and 7.0.10 and below may allow an unauthenticated remote attacker with non-public information pertaining to the device and targeted user…
more
to gain admin privileges on the device via a specially crafted request.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct unauthenticated remote exploitation of a public-facing FortiWeb management interface to obtain full administrative access.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly mitigates the CVE by identifying, prioritizing, and applying patches to remediate the improper parameter handling flaw in affected FortiWeb versions.
Requires validation of information inputs, directly countering the improper handling of parameters that enables specially crafted requests to escalate privileges.
Enforces approved access authorizations, helping to block unauthorized privilege escalation even if parameters are mishandled.