# CVE-2023-44248: Missing authorization in FortiEDR CollectorWindows

> A local attacker can prevent the FortiEDR Collector service from starting by tampering with registry keys, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:P/RL:X/RC:R`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 14 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8q65-4j4c-59vh

## What is CVE-2023-44248?

CVE-2023-44248 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Fortinet FortiEDR CollectorWindows, published on 14 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An improper access control vulnerability [CWE-284] in FortiEDRCollectorWindows version 5.2.0.4549 and below, 5.0.3.1007 and below, 4.0 all may allow a local attacker to prevent the collector service to start in the next system reboot by tampering with some registry keys of the service.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-44248?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fortinet Fortiedr.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-44248?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-44248 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-44248 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-44248 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet FortiEDR CollectorWindows

- [CVE-2022-23441](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23441/): Hardcoded credentials in Fortinet FortiEDR (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2022-23440](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23440/): Hardcoded credentials in Fortinet FortiEDR (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-33303](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33303/): Auth bypass in FortiEDR (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2022-29057](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-29057/): Cross-site scripting in Fortinet FortiEDR (medium 5.4)
- [CVE-2022-39949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-39949/): Security feature bypass in Fortinet FortiEDR (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-44248 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-44248 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Fortinet FortiEDR CollectorWindows, published on 14 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-44248 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fortinet FortiEDR CollectorWindows. 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-2023-44248/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-44248/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-44248
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-44248
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-44248

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-44248/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.