# CVE-2024-52965: Auth bypass in FortiOS

> Attackers can bypass authentication using invalid certificates in FortiOS and FortiProxy, allowing unauthorized access to the system.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:X/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 8 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 8 Jul 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3jrw-g6mq-cx56

## What is CVE-2024-52965?

CVE-2024-52965 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios, published on 8 Jul 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A missing critical step in authentication vulnerability [CWE-304] in Fortinet FortiOS version 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, 7.4.0 through 7.4.5, 7.2.0 through 7.2.10, and before 7.0.16 & FortiProxy version 7.6.0 through 7.6.1, 7.4.0 through 7.4.8, 7.2.0 through 7.2.13 and before 7.0.20 allows an API-user using api-key + PKI user certificate authentication to login even if the certificate is invalid.

Weakness: CWE-304 (Missing Critical Step in Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-52965?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Fortinet Fortios, Fortinet Fortiproxy.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-52965?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-52965 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-52965 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-52965 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet Fortios

- [CVE-2024-23113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-23113/): Fortinet Multiple Products Format String (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-40684](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40684/): Fortinet Multiple Products Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-55591](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-55591/): Fortinet FortiOS and FortiProxy Authentication Bypass (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-21762](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21762/): Fortinet FortiOS Out-of-Bound Write (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-42475](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42475/): Fortinet FortiOS Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-52965 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-52965 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios, published on 8 Jul 2025. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-52965 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fortinet Fortios. 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-2024-52965/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-52965/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-52965
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-52965
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-52965

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-52965/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.