CVE-2024-56170 is a vulnerability in Fort software versions through 1.6.4 before 2.0.0 related to the handling of Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) manifests. RPKI manifests list relevant files that clients must verify to ensure the authenticity and freshness of routing origin data. Each manifest contains a manifestNumber (a sequential serial number) and a thisUpdate timestamp, both used to determine the most recent and thus valid manifest. The vulnerability arises because the Fort product does not compare the freshness of the newly fetched manifest against the cached one. Consequently, an attacker or misconfigured server can serve an older but valid manifest, causing the client to rollback to an outdated manifest version. This rollback undermines the integrity of route origin validation by allowing acceptance of stale or revoked routing information. Although the vulnerability does not directly compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the system, it weakens the trust model of RPKI-based routing security. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.3 (medium), reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and limited confidentiality impact. No known exploits have been reported in the wild. The weakness corresponds to CWE-346 (Origin Validation Error). There are no published patches yet, but upgrading to Fort 2.0.0 or later is expected to resolve the issue by properly validating manifest freshness.

The primary impact of CVE-2024-56170 is the potential acceptance of outdated or revoked route origin data due to rollback attacks on RPKI manifests. This can lead to incorrect routing decisions, potentially enabling route hijacking, traffic interception, or denial of service through misrouted traffic. Organizations relying on Fort for RPKI validation may experience degraded routing security, increasing the risk of BGP prefix hijacking or route leaks. While the vulnerability does not directly affect system confidentiality or availability, the indirect impact on network integrity and trustworthiness can be significant, especially for ISPs, cloud providers, and large enterprises that depend on accurate route origin validation to protect their network infrastructure. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk, but the vulnerability presents a persistent threat vector that could be leveraged by sophisticated attackers or misconfigurations. The scope includes all deployments of affected Fort versions performing RPKI validation, which are typically found in network operators and security-conscious organizations.

To mitigate CVE-2024-56170, organizations should: 1) Upgrade Fort software to version 2.0.0 or later once available, as this version is expected to properly validate manifest freshness and prevent rollback attacks. 2) Until patches are available, implement additional validation mechanisms such as out-of-band verification of manifest updates or cross-checking manifests from multiple trusted RPKI repositories to detect rollbacks. 3) Restrict network access to RPKI repositories to trusted sources and monitor network traffic for anomalous manifest updates or repeated older manifest deliveries. 4) Employ monitoring and alerting on routing anomalies that may indicate compromised route origin validation. 5) Engage with Fort support or vendor channels to obtain interim fixes or guidance. 6) Educate network operations teams about the risk of manifest rollback and the importance of timely software updates. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on layered validation, network controls, and operational awareness specific to RPKI manifest handling.