Fortinet FortiOS/FortiProxy/FortiSwitchManager TACACS+ ASCII missing authentication

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Fortinet FortiOS, FortiProxy and FortiSwitchManager. The affected element is an unknown function of the component TACACS+ ASCII Handler. Performing a manipulation results in missing authentication. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2025-22252. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Fortinet FortiOS, FortiProxy and FortiSwitchManager (affected version unknown). This affects an unknown functionality of the component TACACS+ ASCII Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a missing authentication vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-306. The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A missing authentication for critical function in Fortinet FortiProxy versions 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, FortiSwitchManager version 7.2.5, and FortiOS versions 7.4.4 through 7.4.6 and version 7.6.0 may allow an attacker with knowledge of an existing admin account to access the device as a valid admin via an authentication bypass.

It is possible to read the advisory at fortiguard.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-22252. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/28/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 235826 (Fortinet Fortigate TACACS+ authentication bypass (FG-IR-24-472)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (235826). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Firewall Software

Vendor

• Fortinet

Name

• FortiOS
• FortiProxy
• FortiSwitchManager

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.fortinet.com/

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Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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