CVE-2024-45330: Fortinet FortiAnalyzer Privilege Escalation

CVE-2024-45330 Overview

CVE-2024-45330 is a format string vulnerability in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer that allows an authenticated attacker to escalate privileges through specially crafted requests. The flaw is classified under [CWE-134] (Use of Externally-Controlled Format String) and affects FortiAnalyzer versions 7.4.0 through 7.4.3 and 7.2.2 through 7.2.5, as well as FortiAnalyzer Cloud. Successful exploitation grants elevated privileges on the log management and analytics appliance, which typically holds sensitive telemetry across a Fortinet deployment. Fortinet published the advisory as FG-IR-24-196.

Critical Impact
An authenticated attacker with high privileges can escalate to full administrative control of FortiAnalyzer, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of centralized security logs.

Affected Products

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer 7.4.0 through 7.4.3
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer 7.2.2 through 7.2.5
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer Cloud (affected versions per vendor advisory)

Discovery Timeline

2024-10-08 - CVE-2024-45330 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-45330

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from improper handling of user-supplied input passed as a format string to a formatting function within FortiAnalyzer. When an application forwards attacker-controlled data directly into functions such as printf, sprintf, or syslog without a fixed format specifier, the attacker can inject conversion specifiers such as %x, %s, or %n. These specifiers cause the function to read from or write to memory locations that were not intended to be exposed.

On FortiAnalyzer, the affected code path is reachable over the network by an authenticated user with high privileges. Exploitation yields privilege escalation, indicating that the format string primitive is used to overwrite privileged state, tamper with authorization checks, or execute code within a higher-privileged process context.

Root Cause

The root cause is the direct use of externally controlled input as a format string argument. Secure coding practice requires that format strings be constant literals defined by the developer, with user data passed exclusively as arguments. Bypassing this discipline exposes stack contents and, when %n is available, allows arbitrary write primitives.

Attack Vector

An attacker must first authenticate to FortiAnalyzer with elevated privileges. The attacker then issues a specially crafted request containing format specifiers embedded in a field that reaches the vulnerable formatting routine. The malformed input triggers memory disclosure or memory corruption, leading to escalation beyond the attacker's original role. No user interaction is required, and the attack occurs over the network management interface.

No public proof-of-concept exploit or exploitation-in-the-wild has been reported. The EPSS probability is 0.633%.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-45330

Indicators of Compromise

Presence of format specifier tokens such as %x, %s, %n, or %p in FortiAnalyzer administrative request bodies, URL parameters, or API fields.
Unexpected FortiAnalyzer process crashes, segmentation faults, or restarts logged in system event logs.
Administrative account activity that does not correlate with known change windows or approved operators.

Detection Strategies

Enable verbose audit logging on FortiAnalyzer and forward events to a centralized SIEM for inspection of privileged API and CLI activity.
Alert on any parameter values containing consecutive % characters or classic format string payloads submitted to management endpoints.
Correlate authentication events with subsequent privilege changes or configuration modifications to identify anomalous escalation.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor administrative sessions on FortiAnalyzer for unusual command sequences that follow successful high-privilege logins.
Track integrity of admin account roles, ADOM permissions, and system configuration files to detect unauthorized modifications.
Review FortiGuard advisory FG-IR-24-196 for updated vendor guidance and any additional indicators.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-45330

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade FortiAnalyzer to a fixed release as specified in FG-IR-24-196.
Restrict management plane access to trusted administrator networks using firewall policies and trusted host settings.
Rotate all administrative credentials and API tokens after patching, especially where high-privilege accounts exist.

Patch Information

Fortinet has released patched versions of FortiAnalyzer and FortiAnalyzer Cloud. Refer to the vendor advisory FG-IR-24-196 for the exact fixed builds corresponding to the 7.4.x and 7.2.x branches. Apply the upgrade path recommended by Fortinet for your currently deployed version.

Workarounds

Enforce least privilege on FortiAnalyzer administrator accounts and remove unnecessary high-privilege roles until patching is complete.
Require multi-factor authentication for all FortiAnalyzer administrative logins to reduce the likelihood of credential-based prerequisite access.
Limit exposure of the FortiAnalyzer management interface to dedicated management VLANs and jump hosts.

bash

# Configuration example: restrict administrator access to trusted hosts
config system admin
    edit "admin"
        set trusthost1 10.0.0.0 255.255.255.0
        set trusthost2 192.168.10.0 255.255.255.0
    next
end