CVE-2024-46662 is a command injection vulnerability affecting Fortinet FortiManager versions 7.4.1 through 7.4.3 and FortiManager Cloud versions 7.4.1 through 7.4.3. The flaw arises from improper neutralization of special elements in commands processed by the FortiManager software, allowing an attacker to inject malicious commands via specially crafted network packets. This vulnerability enables an attacker with low privileges (PR:L) to escalate their privileges without requiring user interaction (UI:N). The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), meaning exploitation can occur remotely. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H) of the FortiManager system, potentially allowing full system compromise. The scope is unchanged (S:U), indicating the vulnerability affects only the vulnerable component. The exploitability is functional (E:F), and the remediation level is a workaround (RL:W) with confirmed report confidence (RC:C). FortiManager is a critical centralized management platform for Fortinet security appliances, so exploitation could lead to control over multiple security devices managed by the platform. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the high CVSS score of 8.3 reflects the serious risk posed by this vulnerability. Organizations should monitor Fortinet advisories for patches and apply them promptly to prevent potential attacks.

The impact of CVE-2024-46662 is significant for organizations using FortiManager for centralized management of Fortinet security devices. Exploitation allows attackers to escalate privileges remotely, potentially gaining administrative control over the FortiManager system. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive network configurations, manipulation or disabling of security policies, and disruption of security monitoring and enforcement. The compromise of FortiManager could cascade to the entire security infrastructure managed by it, affecting multiple devices and networks. Confidentiality of sensitive data and network configurations can be breached, integrity of security policies can be undermined, and availability of security management services can be disrupted. This poses a high risk to enterprise networks, government agencies, and critical infrastructure relying on Fortinet products for security management. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not diminish the urgency for remediation due to the ease of exploitation and high impact.

Organizations should immediately inventory their FortiManager deployments to identify affected versions (7.4.1 through 7.4.3). They should monitor Fortinet's official security advisories and apply vendor-provided patches or updates as soon as they become available. Until patches are released, implement network-level controls to restrict access to FortiManager management interfaces, limiting exposure to trusted administrative networks only. Employ strict firewall rules and network segmentation to isolate FortiManager from untrusted networks. Enable and review detailed logging and monitoring on FortiManager to detect anomalous activities indicative of exploitation attempts. Consider deploying intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) with signatures targeting command injection attempts against FortiManager. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on FortiManager to identify any exploitation attempts. Additionally, enforce the principle of least privilege for user accounts on FortiManager to minimize the impact of any privilege escalation. Maintain up-to-date backups of FortiManager configurations to enable rapid recovery if compromise occurs.