CVE-2023-46717Network attack vector

Privilege escalation via successive login attempts

Published Mar 12, 2024 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Improper authentication in affected Fortinet FortiOS releases allows remote authenticated users to gain read-write access. With FortiAuthenticator configured in high availability, successive login attempts by a read-only account improperly yield read-write authorization; Fortinet has not disclosed the responsible authentication component or state-handling error. Reachability requires valid read-only credentials and the FortiAuthenticator HA configuration, after which administrative settings and protected data can be modified.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.64%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authentication in affected Fortinet FortiOS releases allows remote authenticated users to gain read-write access. With FortiAuthenticator configured in high availability, successive login attempts by a read-only account improperly yield read-write authorization; Fortinet has not disclosed the responsible authentication component or state-handling error. Reachability requires valid read-only credentials and the FortiAuthenticator HA configuration, after which administrative settings and protected data can be modified.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-46717
Published
Mar 12, 2024
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
Fortinet
Product
FortiOS
Classifications
CWE-287, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 12, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 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=7.0.0 <=7.0.12
  2. Affected versionversion=7.2.0 <=7.2.6
  3. Affected versionversion=7.4.0 <=7.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Fortinet · FortiOSversion=7.0.0 <=7.0.12; version=7.2.0 <=7.2.6; version=7.4.0 <=7.4.1

Published CVSS scores

7.5Fortinet, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-287Improper Authentication
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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