CVE-2023-26205: Fortinet FortiADC · Escalation of privilege
Affects Fortinet FortiADCSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.9 High.
Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 47% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:F/RL:U/RC:CExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 Nov 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiADC | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
1. Apply official patches from Fortinet as soon as they are released for affected FortiADC versions to remediate the vulnerability. 2. Restrict access to FortiADC management and automation interfaces using network segmentation, firewalls, and VPNs to limit exposure to trusted administrators only. 3. Enforce strong authentication mechanisms, including multi-factor authentication, for all users accessing FortiADC devices. 4. Audit and monitor automation scripts and configurations regularly to detect unauthorized or suspicious changes indicative of exploitation attempts. 5. Implement strict role-based access controls (RBAC) to minimize privileges granted to users and reduce the attack surface. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on FortiADC deployments to identify potential weaknesses. 7. Maintain comprehensive logging and alerting on administrative actions to enable rapid detection and response to privilege escalation attempts. 8. Educate administrators on secure configuration practices and the risks associated with automation features.
Description
CVE-2023-26205 is a high-severity privilege escalation vulnerability in Fortinet FortiADC versions 6.1.x through 7.1.2. It allows an authenticated low-privileged attacker to escalate to super_admin by exploiting improper access control in the fabric automation CLI script configuration. The vulnerability requires no user interaction and can be exploited remotely over the network. The impact includes full administrative control over the FortiADC device, potentially compromising confidentiality and integrity of network traffic and configurations. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. European organizations using FortiADC for application delivery and load balancing are at risk, especially those with exposed management interfaces.