CVE-2024-40591 Privilege escalation in FortiOS

What is CVE-2024-40591?

CVE-2024-40591 is a high-severity vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios, published on 11 Feb 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

An incorrect privilege assignment vulnerability [CWE-266] in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.6.0, 7.4.0 through 7.4.4, 7.2.0 through 7.2.9 and before 7.0.15 allows an authenticated admin whose access profile has the Security Fabric permission to escalate their privileges to super-admin by connecting the targetted FortiGate to a malicious upstream FortiGate they control.

Weakness: CWE-266

Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-40591?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Fortinet Fortios.

How do I fix CVE-2024-40591?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-40591 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2024-40591 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-40591 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet Fortios

• CVE-2024-23113 Fortinet Multiple Products Format String Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2022-40684 Fortinet Multiple Products Authentication Bypass Exploited Critical 9.8
• CVE-2024-55591 Fortinet FortiOS and FortiProxy Authentication Bypass Exploited Critical 9.6
• CVE-2024-21762 Fortinet FortiOS Out-of-Bound Write Exploited Critical 9.6
• CVE-2022-42475 Fortinet FortiOS Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited Critical 9.3

All Fortinet Fortios vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-hmpg-p67j-959p.