CVE-2021-41021

Root privilege escalation via exploitable sudo permissions

Published Dec 8, 2021 · Updated Oct 25, 2024

Privilege escalation in Fortinet FortiNAC 8.8.8 and earlier and 9.1.2 and earlier allows local users with administrator access to gain root. An administrator account receives exploitable sudo privileges, but Fortinet has not disclosed the permitted command or configuration error. Successful exploitation requires authenticated appliance administration access and grants complete root control.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in Fortinet FortiNAC 8.8.8 and earlier and 9.1.2 and earlier allows local users with administrator access to gain root. An administrator account receives exploitable sudo privileges, but Fortinet has not disclosed the permitted command or configuration error. Successful exploitation requires authenticated appliance administration access and grants complete root control.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-41021
Published
Dec 8, 2021
Updated
Oct 25, 2024
Vendor
Fortinet
Product
FortiNAC
Classifications
T1548.003
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 25, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=FortiNAC 9.1.2, 9.1.1, 9.1.0, 8.8.8, 8.8.7, 8.8.6, 8.8.5, 8.8.4, 8.8.3, 8.8.2, 8.8.1, 8.8.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Fortinet · FortiNACversion=FortiNAC 9.1.2, 9.1.1, 9.1.0, 8.8.8, 8.8.7, 8.8.6, 8.8.5, 8.8.4, 8.8.3, 8.8.2, 8.8.1, 8.8.0

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8Fortinet, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1548.003Sudo and Sudo Caching

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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