Did you know a single vulnerability could expose sensitive files and grant admin access to remote attackers?
Fortinet's FortiWLM (Wireless LAN Manager) recently faced a critical security flaw, tracked as CVE-2023-34990, with a CVSS score of 9.6. This vulnerability, now patched, allowed remote, unauthenticated attackers to exploit built-in log-reading functions via specific crafted requests. By leveraging this flaw, attackers could traverse directories, read sensitive files, and even hijack user sessions.
Here’s how it works: using the `/ems/cgi-bin/ezrf_lighttpd.cgi` endpoint, attackers could manipulate the `imagename` parameter to bypass input validation. This allowed unauthorized access to verbose logs containing static session ID tokens. Such tokens persist until the device reboots, enabling attackers to hijack sessions and gain admin privileges. Essentially, they could abuse log file access to control authenticated endpoints.
The issue affected FortiWLM versions 8.6.0 through 8.6.5 and 8.5.0 through 8.5.4 but has been addressed in updates 8.6.6 and 8.5.5, respectively. Security researchers also discovered that CVE-2023-34990 could be chained with another vulnerability, CVE-2023-48782 (CVSS 8.8), to enable remote arbitrary code execution with root-level permissions, significantly escalating the risk.
Although the exposure to the internet is relatively low—about 15 publicly visible instances—FortiWLM is especially popular among State, Local, and Education (SLED) sectors, as well as healthcare organizations. This pattern makes timely updates essential for those relying on these systems.
Keeping firmware updated and conducting regular vulnerability assessments are vital steps in defending against such threats, particularly when devices like Fortinet’s are frequent targets of cyberattacks.
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