Fortinet Flaw Fixed: Not a Zero-Day, But Still a Major Headache!

Hot Take:

Just when you thought your firewalls were the great wall of cybersecurity, Fortinet delivers a plot twist worthy of a daytime drama. Turns out, some firewalls were more like a flimsy picket fence, easily scaled by cyber-intruders. But don’t worry, Fortinet’s already patched things up, so your digital fortress might live to see another day. Time to update those systems faster than you can say ‘CVE-2025-24472’!

Key Points:

• Fortinet discovered a non-zero-day vulnerability, CVE-2025-24472, which has been patched since January.
• The CVE-2025-24472 flaw impacts FortiOS and FortiProxy, allowing attackers super-admin access via malicious proxy requests.
• CVE-2024-55591 was the actual exploited vulnerability, not CVE-2025-24472 as initially speculated.
• Cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf reported ongoing exploitation of vulnerable firewall interfaces starting November 2024.
• Fortinet advises disabling public management access or limiting IP addresses as a stopgap measure.

Patch, Please!

In the wild world of cybersecurity, Fortinet’s recent advisory update might feel like déjà vu. Initially thought to be a zero-day horror show, CVE-2025-24472 was, in fact, just a rerun in disguise. It’s like finding out your “new” episode of a series is actually a rerun you’ve seen before—no surprises here, folks! This vulnerability was already patched in January, leaving CVE-2024-55591 as the real culprit that had everyone running for the hills.

The Real Villain Unmasked

Despite the initial scare, it turns out only the CVE-2024-55591 vulnerability was out there doing its villainous deeds, while CVE-2025-24472 was just a misunderstood sidekick. The real danger allowed cyber crooks to send malicious requests, basically giving them the keys to the castle, and by castle, we mean your enterprise network. Fortinet assures that if you’re updated per their previous guidance, you’re as safe as a squirrel in a tree during a dog parade.

Firewall Follies

While Fortinet was busy clarifying the status of their vulnerabilities, Arctic Wolf was out there doing detective work worthy of its own crime show. They highlighted a campaign where bad actors were sneaking through management interfaces like they had invisibility cloaks, creating rogue accounts, and fiddling with firewall settings like it was an open mic night. To stop this comedy of errors, they suggest turning off firewall management access on public interfaces faster than you can say “firewall foibles.”

Timeline of Troubles

Arctic Wolf laid out a timeline that sounds like the plot of a heist film: vulnerability scanning, reconnaissance, SSL VPN configuration, and lateral movement. It’s almost like the cyber versions of Ocean’s Eleven were in play, only with more code and less George Clooney. They even suggest the possibility of multiple groups getting in on the action, making it a cyber party no one was invited to but everyone crashed.

A Fortified Future?

Fortinet’s advice for those who can’t immediately patch their systems is to put up their own digital traffic cones. By limiting IP access or outright disabling HTTP/HTTPS access, they’re essentially telling admins to lock the doors and keep the windows shut until the cavalry arrives with updates. And if you’re still waiting for a callback from Fortinet, you might want to grab a cup of coffee—BleepingComputer is still on hold too. So, in the end, while Fortinet is busy patching holes and cybersecurity teams are battening down the hatches, you might want to keep your systems updated and your cyber spirits high. After all, in this digital age, it’s always better to be patched than sorry!