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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2024-40591: Fortinet FortiOS · Escalation of Privilege

Affects Fortinet FortiOSSource CVE Database V5

0

Public exploit available · CVSS 8.0 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.0High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 49% 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:H/E:P/RL:X/RC:R

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 11 Feb 2025

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: evidence found.

    CVSS exploit maturity: proof of concept public

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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), CVSS vector, the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Fortinet FortiOSAffected
  • 6.4.0 – 7.6.0
5 affected builds
Fixed in–

AI-suggested

  1. Immediately restrict Security Fabric permissions to only the most trusted and necessary administrators to reduce the risk of privilege escalation.
  2. Monitor network connections between FortiGate devices to detect and block unauthorized or suspicious upstream FortiGate connections.
  3. Implement strict network segmentation and access controls to limit administrative access to FortiGate management interfaces.
  4. Regularly audit administrator accounts and permissions to ensure least privilege principles are enforced.
  5. Deploy network intrusion detection systems (IDS) to identify anomalous traffic patterns indicative of exploitation attempts.
  6. Stay updated with Fortinet advisories and apply security patches promptly once available.
  7. Consider temporary compensating controls such as disabling Security Fabric features if feasible until patches are released.
  8. Conduct internal penetration testing and vulnerability assessments focusing on FortiGate devices to identify potential exploitation paths.

Description

An incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability [CWE-266] in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.6.0, 7.4.0 through 7.4.4, 7.2.0 through 7.2.9 and before 7.0.15 allows an authenticated admin whose access profile has the Security Fabric permission to escalate their privileges to super-admin by connecting the targetted FortiGate to a malicious upstream FortiGate they control.

References

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