CVE-2022-26118Public exploit

Root escalation via writable logs and symlinks

Published Jul 18, 2022 · Updated Oct 25, 2024

Privilege escalation in affected Fortinet FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer releases allows local users with a restricted shell to gain root. World-writable /var/log permissions let the user replace service log files with symlinks, while privileged local services overwrite and append attacker-controlled content to an executable. A non-root administrative-domain login then triggers the executable as root, enabling full appliance control.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.27%
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 affected Fortinet FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer releases allows local users with a restricted shell to gain root. World-writable /var/log permissions let the user replace service log files with symlinks, while privileged local services overwrite and append attacker-controlled content to an executable. A non-root administrative-domain login then triggers the executable as root, enabling full appliance control.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-26118
Published
Jul 18, 2022
Updated
Oct 25, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-268, CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 18, 2022CVE 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.5FortinetCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:U/RC:C

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-268Privilege Chaining
CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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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