Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can expose stored LDAP login credentials from affected Fortinet appliances. An attacker with low-level authenticated access can redirect an LDAP connectivity test to a server they control, causing the appliance to disclose credentials. Compromise could enable unauthorized access to connected directory services.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority credential-exposure issue because CISA lists it as known exploited. Promptly identify affected appliances, apply Fortinet-supported remediation, and rotate potentially exposed LDAP credentials. Escalate urgency where those credentials are privileged, reused, or provide broad directory access.
Technical view
CVE-2018-13374 is an improper access-control vulnerability affecting specified FortiOS and FortiADC releases. A low-privileged, network-based attacker can alter the destination of an LDAP connectivity test from the configured server to a rogue LDAP server and obtain the configured LDAP credentials. The supplied CVSS v3.1 score is 4.3.
Likely exposure
Exposure requires an affected FortiOS or FortiADC version, configured LDAP credentials, and an attacker able to access the relevant authenticated testing function. Internet exposure is not established by the supplied evidence. Credential privileges and reuse will materially influence business impact.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV inclusion indicates evidence of exploitation in the wild. The supplied sources do not establish current campaign activity, exploitation scale, attacker identities, or whether specific organizations are targeted. Exploitation requires low privileges and no user interaction according to the supplied CVSS vector.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports network reachability, low attack complexity, low privileges, no user interaction, and confidentiality impact. It does not specify the exact required role, logging coverage, fixed versions, credential encryption behavior, or exploitation prevalence. Validate those details through the Fortinet advisory and appliance-specific documentation.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory affected FortiOS and FortiADC appliances and their exact versions.
- Review Fortinet advisory FG-IR-18-157 for supported fixed releases and upgrade guidance.
- Restrict access to administrative and LDAP testing functions to trusted administrators.
- Rotate exposed LDAP credentials after remediation, prioritizing privileged or reused accounts.
- Monitor directory services for suspicious authentication involving appliance-configured LDAP accounts.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether each appliance runs a version listed as affected.
- Determine whether LDAP credentials are configured on affected appliances.
- Identify accounts permitted to initiate or modify LDAP connectivity tests.
- Review appliance logs for unexpected LDAP tests or untrusted destination servers.
- Verify upgrades against Fortinet guidance and confirm affected versions are no longer deployed.
- Check directory authentication records for anomalous use of the configured LDAP account.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-732: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-13374 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N2.81.4fortinetVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- Added to KEVCISA-ADP
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities metadata lists this CVE as known exploited.
- ADP timelineCISA-ADP
CVE-2018-13374 added to CISA KEV
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2022-09-08T00:00:00.000Z: CVE-2018-13374 added to CISA KEV
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://fortiguard.com/advisory/FG-IR-18-157CVE reference, fortinet · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-13374CVE reference, CISA-ADP · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.