CVE-2023-34990: Relative Path Traversal Vulnerability in Fortinet FortiWLM Leads to Unauthorized Code Execution

A newly discovered vulnerability (CVE-2023-34990) affects Fortinet FortiWLM, which is a popular Wireless LAN Management system. The vulnerability exists in FortiWLM versions 8.6. through 8.6.5 and 8.5. through 8.5.4, and it permits a potential attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specially crafted web requests.

This long read post covers the details of the vulnerability, including its technical aspects, relevant code snippets, and helpful links to original references. By the end of this post, the reader should have a good understanding of the exploit and mitigation measures.

Vulnerability Details

The vulnerability stems from a relative path traversal issue that allows an attacker to craft web requests to access directories and execute code outside the intended restriction. An attacker could exploit this security flaw to run malicious commands on the victim’s system with the privileges of the FortiWLM service.

To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker should send a specially crafted HTTP request containing directory traversal characters. Below is a code snippet that demonstrates a malicious request using Python:

import requests

target_url = "http://<target_ip>/path/to/vulnerable/resource/";
traversal_payload = "../../../../path/to/attacker/controlled/file"
headers = {"Content-Type": "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"}

response = requests.post(target_url, data=traversal_payload, headers=headers)

if response.status_code == 200:
    print("Exploit successful!")
else:
    print("Exploit failed.")

Please note that the code snippet is for educational purposes only and should not be utilized maliciously.

Original References

Further information about the CVE-2023-34990 vulnerability, including technical details and potential mitigation measures, can be found in the original references:
- Fortinet Advisory: https://www.fortiguard.com/psirt/FG-IR-21-269
- CVE Details: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-34990
- National Vulnerability Database: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34990

Exploit Details

Exploiting this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to the system. An attacker might execute code or commands with the same privileges as the FortiWLM service, possibly compromising the security of the entire network.

To mitigate this vulnerability, it is highly recommended to update FortiWLM to the latest version. Fortinet has released patches for the affected versions, which address the relative path traversal issue, effectively preventing attackers from exploiting the vulnerability.

Additionally, organizations should consider implementing security best practices, such as network segmentation, restricting access to FortiWLM management interfaces, and monitoring network traffic to detect potential attacks.

Conclusion

The CVE-2023-34990 vulnerability in Fortinet FortiWLM demonstrates the significance of thorough security testing and staying up-to-date with the latest patches and software versions. Fortinet has promptly addressed the issue, and organizations should take immediate action to update their systems and implement proper security measures to mitigate the risk of exploitation.

Timeline

Published on: 12/18/2024 13:15:05 UTC
Last modified on: 12/18/2024 15:15:06 UTC