# CVE-2021-36172: XML external entity in Fortinet FortiPortal

> An attacker controlling XML report producers can cause denial of service or read arbitrary files via crafted XML in FortiPortal.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:W/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 25 Oct 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-769g-xf8v-jx9v

## What is CVE-2021-36172?

CVE-2021-36172 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fortinet FortiPortal, published on 2 Nov 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An improper restriction of XML external entity reference vulnerability in the parser of XML responses of FortiPortal before 6.0.6 may allow an attacker who controls the producer of XML reports consumed by FortiPortal to trigger a denial of service or read arbitrary files from the underlying file system by means of specifically crafted XML documents.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36172?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fortinet Fortiportal.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-36172?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-36172 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-36172 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36172 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet FortiPortal

- [CVE-2021-32590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32590/): SQL injection in Fortinet FortiPortal (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2021-32588](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-32588/): Hardcoded credentials in Fortinet FortiPortal (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7342](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7342/): Security feature bypass in Fortinet FortiPortal (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7337/): Missing authorization in Fortinet FortiPortal (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2025-24470](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-24470/): Path traversal in FortiPortal (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36172 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-36172 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fortinet FortiPortal, published on 2 Nov 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36172 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fortinet FortiPortal. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36172/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36172/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36172
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36172
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36172

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36172/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.