Backup decryption via weak password hashing
Published Jun 11, 2024 · Updated Aug 27, 2025
Weak password hashing in Fortinet FortiOS and FortiProxy allows local users with super-admin CLI access to decrypt backup files. The backup-protection mechanism applies insufficient computational effort to password hashing, reducing the work needed to recover protected backup contents. Exploitation requires a super-admin profile and CLI access; the bounded consequence is disclosure of configuration data stored in the backup.
Summary
What happened
Weak password hashing in Fortinet FortiOS and FortiProxy allows local users with super-admin CLI access to decrypt backup files. The backup-protection mechanism applies insufficient computational effort to password hashing, reducing the work needed to recover protected backup contents. Exploitation requires a super-admin profile and CLI access; the bounded consequence is disclosure of configuration data stored in the backup.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-21754
- Published
- Jun 11, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 27, 2025
- Vendor
- Fortinet
- Product
- FortiOS
- Classifications
- CWE-916, T1140
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 11, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 27, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=6.4.0 <=6.4.15
- Affected versionversion=7.0.0 <=7.0.15
- Affected versionversion=7.2.0 <=7.2.8
- Affected versionversion=7.4.0 <=7.4.3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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