CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2021-36172 — Fortinet Fortiportal security vulnerability

High CVSS 8.1

An improper restriction of XML external entity reference vulnerability in the parser of XML responses of FortiPortal before 6.0.6 may allow an attacker who controls the producer of XML reports consumed by FortiPortal to trigger a denial of service or read arbitrary files from the underlying file system by means of specifically crafted XML documents.

Severity
High
CVSS
8.1 (3.1)
Published
2021-11-02
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-611

Affected products

  • fortinet / fortiportal

Showing 1 representative product identities from 8 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

XML external entity and unsafe XML processing

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Check exposure

  • Inventory XML parsers used by APIs, file imports, office or image formats, identity protocols, feeds, and background jobs.
  • Determine whether document type declarations, external entities, XInclude, schemas, or network resolvers are enabled.
  • Map parser filesystem and network access and the sensitivity of documents it processes.

Remediate safely

  • Configure each parser to reject document type declarations and disable external entity, XInclude, and network resolution features.
  • Prefer a data format or hardened parser that does not support external resolution, and apply input size and depth limits.
  • Update affected XML libraries and centralize secure parser construction so callers cannot silently override it.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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