Report · CIRCL OSINT FeedAbout CVE-2023-27997Published 14 Feb 2026

tlp clear · KRVTZ-NET IDS alerts for 2026-02-14

Affects tlp clearSource CIRCL OSINT Feed

TLP:CLEAR, disclosure is not limited

Authoritative record:CVE-2023-27997· Critical 9.2

Exploited in the wild · used in ransomware campaigns · KEV due 4 Jul 2023 · 85% EPSS · no patch yet : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to tlp clear now.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS base score

9.2Critical

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

KEV deadline: 4 Jul 2023 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
Ransomware: Used in ransomware campaigns
EPSS: 85.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Not yet available

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Jun 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: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV the same day as disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by fortinet
2023-03-0910:09Z, 96 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
2023-06-1308:41Z, t = 0
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed · ransomware use known
2023-06-13, the same day as disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
2023-07-04, 21 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

The KRVTZ-NET IDS alerts from February 14, 2026, report ongoing reconnaissance activity targeting Fortinet Fortigate VPN devices by exploiting CVE-2023-27997. Attackers are sending repeated GET requests to the /remote/logincheck endpoint to bypass authentication. This reconnaissance is performed by automated scanners from identified IP addresses linked to scanning and exploit attempts. No active exploitation or ransomware campaigns have been reported yet, but reconnaissance is a critical precursor to potential attacks. There is currently no patch available for this vulnerability, increasing the importance of detection and mitigation. The threat is assessed as low severity by the source, but overall risk is medium due to the vulnerability and reconnaissance activity. Mitigation includes network segmentation, strict access controls, monitoring, and applying Fortinet's hardening guidelines.

Impact

The vulnerability CVE-2023-27997 allows attackers to attempt authentication bypass on Fortinet Fortigate VPN devices, potentially enabling unauthorized access. While no active exploitation or ransomware campaigns have been reported, the ongoing reconnaissance indicates attackers are preparing for possible exploitation. The lack of an available patch increases exposure risk for affected devices. Successful exploitation could compromise secure remote access infrastructure in enterprise and government environments.

Mitigation

Organizations should implement network segmentation and strict access controls to limit exposure of Fortinet Fortigate VPN devices. Monitoring for suspicious GET requests to the /remote/logincheck endpoint is recommended to detect reconnaissance activity. Applying Fortinet's hardening guidelines for VPN devices can reduce risk. Since no active exploitation or ransomware campaigns have been reported, these mitigations focus on detection and reducing attack surface until a patch is available.

Summary

This threat involves automated reconnaissance activity targeting Fortinet Fortigate VPN devices via CVE-2023-27997. Attackers perform repeated GET requests to the /remote/logincheck endpoint attempting to bypass authentication mechanisms. The reconnaissance is conducted by HTTP User-Agent scanners from IP addresses associated with scanning and exploit attempts. Although no active exploitation or ransomware campaigns have been reported, the reconnaissance phase is critical as it often precedes exploitation. The source rates the severity as low, but considering the vulnerability and reconnaissance, the overall risk is medium.

CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #16
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
Pre-design: Use a language or compiler that performs automatic bounds checking.
Architecture and Design
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Operation · Build and Compilation · Environment Hardening
Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Forced Integer Overflow (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

Indicators of compromise

IP addresses 3

167.94.146.49- i Censys - HTTP User-Agent Scanner
206.168.34.198- i Censys - HTTP User-Agent Scanner
2001:470:1:c84::13ET EXPLOIT Fortigate VPN - Repeated GET Requests to /remote/logincheck (CVE-2023-27997)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 25 Oct 2026, 21:15 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-122

Indicators of compromise

IP addresses 3

Community reviews

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