CVE-2025-68649: Fortinet Path Traversal Vulnerability

CVE-2025-68649 Overview

CVE-2025-68649 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) affecting Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, and their Cloud variants. This improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory allows a privileged attacker to delete arbitrary files from the underlying filesystem via crafted CLI requests. The vulnerability impacts multiple versions across both on-premises and cloud deployments of these critical network security management platforms.

Critical Impact

A privileged attacker can delete arbitrary files from the underlying filesystem, potentially causing denial of service, disrupting security monitoring capabilities, or destroying audit logs and forensic evidence.

Affected Products

• FortiAnalyzer 7.6.0 through 7.6.4, 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions
• FortiAnalyzer Cloud 7.6.0 through 7.6.4, 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions
• FortiManager 7.6.0 through 7.6.4, 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions
• FortiManager Cloud 7.6.0 through 7.6.4, 7.4.0 through 7.4.7, 7.2 all versions, 7.0 all versions

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-14 - CVE CVE-2025-68649 published to NVD
• 2026-04-14 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-68649

Vulnerability Analysis

This path traversal vulnerability exists in the CLI interface of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager products. The flaw stems from improper sanitization of file path inputs when processing CLI requests. An authenticated attacker with privileged access to the CLI can craft malicious requests containing directory traversal sequences (such as ../) to escape the intended directory structure and target files elsewhere on the filesystem.

The local attack vector requires the attacker to have authenticated CLI access to the vulnerable system. While this limits the exposure compared to network-accessible vulnerabilities, the impact is significant given that FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager are centralized security management platforms that store logs, configurations, and security policies for entire network infrastructures.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient input validation in the CLI file handling routines. When processing file-related CLI commands, the application fails to properly canonicalize and validate path inputs before using them in file system operations. This allows path traversal sequences to bypass directory restrictions and access files outside the intended scope.

Specifically, the vulnerability falls under CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), which occurs when software uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but fails to properly neutralize special elements that can resolve to a location outside of that directory.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local CLI access with elevated privileges. An attacker with administrative or privileged CLI access to a FortiAnalyzer or FortiManager instance can exploit this vulnerability by:

1. Authenticating to the CLI interface with valid privileged credentials
2. Crafting a malicious CLI command that includes path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../) in a file path parameter
3. Executing the command to delete arbitrary files on the underlying filesystem

The attacker could target critical system files, configuration files, log files, or security policies. Deletion of log files could be used to cover tracks after a compromise, while deletion of system files could cause denial of service or system instability.

The vulnerability mechanism involves CLI commands that accept file paths as parameters. When these paths are not properly validated, an attacker can escape the intended directory by using relative path sequences. For example, a parameter expected to reference /opt/fortinet/data/file.log could be manipulated to traverse to /etc/passwd or other sensitive locations. See the Fortinet Security Advisory FG-IR-26-120 for additional technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-68649

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected file deletions in system directories or application data paths
• CLI command logs showing unusual path patterns containing ../ or other traversal sequences
• Missing log files or gaps in log continuity that could indicate evidence tampering
• System stability issues caused by deletion of critical configuration or system files

Detection Strategies

• Monitor CLI command logs for patterns containing directory traversal sequences such as ../, ..\\, or encoded variants
• Implement file integrity monitoring (FIM) on critical system directories to detect unauthorized deletions
• Review authentication logs for privileged CLI access attempts from unusual sources or at unusual times
• Configure alerting for any file deletion operations outside normal operational directories

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive CLI audit logging on all FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager instances
• Deploy SentinelOne agents on underlying operating systems to detect suspicious file system activity
• Establish baseline of normal CLI operations and alert on deviations
• Monitor for privilege escalation attempts that could precede exploitation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-68649

Immediate Actions Required

• Review the Fortinet Security Advisory FG-IR-26-120 for official patching guidance
• Audit all privileged accounts with CLI access and revoke unnecessary privileges
• Implement strict access controls limiting CLI access to essential personnel only
• Enable and review CLI audit logs for any suspicious activity

Patch Information

Fortinet has released information regarding this vulnerability in Security Advisory FG-IR-26-120. Organizations should consult this advisory for specific patch versions and upgrade paths for their deployed products. Given the wide range of affected versions (7.0 through 7.6.x across multiple product lines), administrators should identify all FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager instances in their environment and plan upgrades accordingly.

Workarounds

• Restrict CLI access to only essential administrative personnel using role-based access controls
• Implement network segmentation to limit access to management interfaces
• Deploy jump servers or privileged access management (PAM) solutions to control and audit CLI access
• Enable multi-factor authentication for all administrative access to affected systems
• Consider temporary restrictions on file management CLI commands until patches can be applied

# Review privileged CLI users and audit access
# Check FortiAnalyzer/FortiManager configuration for:
# - List all administrator accounts with CLI access
# - Verify role-based access control configurations
# - Enable CLI command audit logging
# - Restrict management interface access to trusted networks only