Threats / Fortinet / CVE-2022-42475
CVE-2022-42475
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-09-19
Fortinet FortiOS vulnerability
Fortinet FortiOS SSL-VPN contains a heap-based buffer overflow allowing unauthenticated remote code execution. The vulnerability is actively exploited in ransomware campaigns.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
A critical remote code execution flaw in FortiOS SSL-VPN enables unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands. Active exploitation in ransomware operations and high EPSS score indicate immediate threat to exposed instances.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-12-135Ransomware use Flagged5EPSS 0.99474 (verify live)6Exploit Weaponized · public PoC7CVSS 9.33CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
66 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-12-13), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.99474 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:U/RC:C) · Affected: Fortinet, FortiOS. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-197 CWE-197.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog the same day the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
WeaknessCWE-197 · CWE-197
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyVolt Typhoon State-sponsored (PRC)
CISA, NSA and FBI's AA24-038A attributes pre-positioning on US critical-infrastructure IT networks to Volt Typhoon, naming the group's exploitation of public-facing appliance vulnerabilities including the Ivanti Connect Secure (CVE-2024-21887) and Fortinet FortiOS (CVE-2022-42475) CVEs.17
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft malicious SSL-VPN requests to trigger heap buffer overflow and gain code execution without authentication.
Business
Ransomware operators establish initial access to enterprise networks through internet-facing VPN appliances.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute arbitrary commands on the compromised FortiOS device to establish persistence and lateral movement.
Business
Attackers pivot from VPN infrastructure into internal networks to deploy encryption malware across critical systems.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I exfiltrate sensitive data and encrypt business-critical systems to demand ransom payment.
Business
Organizations face operational shutdown, data breach costs, regulatory penalties, and extortion demands.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05
Coverage & confidence
— what we know, and what we don’tEstablished (cited)
Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden
Disclosure & credit2
Catalogued by fortinetCNA
Credited with finding itNo finder is named in the public CVE record or the scanned vendor advisory — attribution scoped to the sources checked.
Found an error? Propose a correction.
A correction is a cited counter-claim — it must cite a source,
gets reviewed by a second human, and is never auto-applied. See the
correction convention and our identity
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