News
Vulnerability · Global · December 2022
Fortinet FortiOS SSL-VPN Heap Overflow (CVE-2022-42475)
A buffer overflow in heap memory in FortiOS SSL-VPN allowed unauthenticated remote code execution on firewalls.
Incident
What happened
The flaw in the SSL-VPN component of FortiOS could be triggered remotely without authentication.
Fortinet confirmed exploitation in the wild when releasing fixes.
Compromised devices could serve as a foothold into internal networks.
Analysis
Lessons learned
Security appliances themselves need vulnerability management.
Logs from perimeter devices should be centralised and reviewed.
Unused VPN features should be disabled to reduce attack surface.
Prevention
How penetration testing helps
External testing examines firewall and VPN exposure; internal testing measures the impact of a compromised edge device.
Sources
Summary based on publicly available information. DIGITPOL was not involved in this incident.