# CVE-2022-45856: Security feature bypass in FortiClientAndroid

> An improper certificate validation flaw in FortiClient's SAML SSO feature allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks on authentication traffic.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N/E:P/RL:U/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Sep 2024
- **Updated:** 10 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r657-x7w7-q6j3

## What is CVE-2022-45856?

CVE-2022-45856 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fortinet Forticlient, published on 10 Sep 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An improper certificate validation vulnerability [CWE-295] in FortiClientWindows 6.4 all versions, 7.0.0 through 7.0.7, FortiClientMac 6.4 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 7.2.0 through 7.2.4, FortiClientLinux 6.4 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 7.2.0 through 7.2.4, FortiClientAndroid 6.4 all versions, 7.0 all versions, 7.2.0 and FortiClientiOS 5.6 all versions, 6.0.0 through 6.0.1, 7.0.0 through 7.0.6 SAML SSO feature may allow an unauthenticated attacker to man-in-the-middle the communication between the FortiClient and  both the service provider and the identity provider.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-45856?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fortinet Forticlient.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-45856?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-45856 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-45856 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-45856 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet Forticlient

- [CVE-2019-17658](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-17658/): Privilege escalation in Fortinet FortiClientWindows (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-45590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-45590/): Code injection in FortiClientLinux (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2017-14184](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14184/): Information disclosure in FortiClient SSLVPN Client for Linux (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-8493](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8493/): Privilege escalation in Fortinet FortiClient (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-15934](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15934/): Privilege escalation in FortiClientLinux (high 8.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-45856 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-45856 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Fortinet Forticlient, published on 10 Sep 2024. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-45856 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fortinet Forticlient. 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-2022-45856/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45856/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-45856
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-45856
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-45856

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-45856/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.