CVE-2021-41023

Agent password disclosure via plaintext log storage

Published Nov 2, 2021 · Updated Oct 25, 2024

Credential exposure in Fortinet FortiSIEM Windows Agent 4.1.4 and earlier allows local users to read the agent password from log files. During registration, the agent writes the Supervisor registration password into a log file in plaintext rather than excluding or protecting the credential. Any authenticated Windows user able to read that log gains the registration password, which Fortinet states is not used for other purposes.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Credential exposure in Fortinet FortiSIEM Windows Agent 4.1.4 and earlier allows local users to read the agent password from log files. During registration, the agent writes the Supervisor registration password into a log file in plaintext rather than excluding or protecting the credential. Any authenticated Windows user able to read that log gains the registration password, which Fortinet states is not used for other purposes.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-41023
Published
Nov 2, 2021
Updated
Oct 25, 2024
Vendor
Fortinet
Product
FortiSIEM Windows Agent
Classifications
CWE-522, T1552.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 2, 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=FortiSIEMWindowsAgent 4.1.4, 4.1.3, 4.1.2, 4.1.1, 4.1.0, 4.0.0, 3.3.0, 3.2.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.0, 3.1.2, 3.1.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Fortinet · FortiSIEM Windows Agentversion=FortiSIEMWindowsAgent 4.1.4, 4.1.3, 4.1.2, 4.1.1, 4.1.0, 4.0.0, 3.3.0, 3.2.2, 3.2.1, 3.2.0, 3.1.2, 3.1.0

Published CVSS scores

2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
5.5Fortinet, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-522Insufficiently Protected Credentials
T1552.001Credentials In Files

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo