CVE-2022-38372

Root shell access via undocumented CLI command

Published Nov 2, 2022 · Updated Oct 25, 2024

Hidden functionality in FortiTester CLI 2.3.0 through 3.9.1, 4.0.0 through 4.2.0, and 7.0.0 through 7.1.0 allows local users to obtain a root shell. The CLI exposes an undocumented command that launches a shell with root privileges outside the documented command interface. Exploitation requires an existing privileged local session; the resulting shell grants unrestricted control of appliance data and operations.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Hidden functionality in FortiTester CLI 2.3.0 through 3.9.1, 4.0.0 through 4.2.0, and 7.0.0 through 7.1.0 allows local users to obtain a root shell. The CLI exposes an undocumented command that launches a shell with root privileges outside the documented command interface. Exploitation requires an existing privileged local session; the resulting shell grants unrestricted control of appliance data and operations.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-38372
Published
Nov 2, 2022
Updated
Oct 25, 2024
Vendor
Fortinet
Product
FortiTester
Classifications
CWE-1242, T1068, T1059.008
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 2, 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?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=FortiTester 2.3.0 through 3.9.1, 4.0.0 through 4.2.0, 7.0.0 through 7.1.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Fortinet · FortiTesterversion=FortiTester 2.3.0 through 3.9.1, 4.0.0 through 4.2.0, 7.0.0 through 7.1.0

Published CVSS scores

6.7Fortinet, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-1242Inclusion of Undocumented Features or Chicken Bits
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1059.008Command and Scripting Interpreter: Network Device CLI

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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