Arbitrary file read via unvalidated configuration path
Published Sep 9, 2025 · Updated Jan 14, 2026
Relative path traversal in affected Fortinet FortiWeb releases allows remote authenticated users to read arbitrary files via crafted requests. The _cmf_get_config_file_path method uses a user-supplied path in file operations without validating traversal sequences, escaping its intended directory. An authenticated administrative context is required, and exploitation discloses files readable by the root-context service without reported modification or interruption.
Summary
What happened
Relative path traversal in affected Fortinet FortiWeb releases allows remote authenticated users to read arbitrary files via crafted requests. The _cmf_get_config_file_path method uses a user-supplied path in file operations without validating traversal sequences, escaping its intended directory. An authenticated administrative context is required, and exploitation discloses files readable by the root-context service without reported modification or interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-53609
- Published
- Sep 9, 2025
- Updated
- Jan 14, 2026
- Vendor
- Fortinet
- Product
- FortiWeb
- Classifications
- CWE-23, T1005
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 9, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 14, 2026Record 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=7.0.2 <=7.0.12
- Affected versionversion=7.2.0 <=7.2.11
- Affected versionversion=7.4.0 <=7.4.8
- Affected versionversion=7.6.0 <=7.6.4
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.
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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