How severe is CVE-2024-21762?

CVE-2024-21762 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2024-21762?

CVE-2024-21762 affects the following products: fortinet fortios, fortinet fortiproxy.

How do I patch CVE-2024-21762?

Apply the fortinet fortios security patch or hotfix for CVE-2024-21762 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.

How do I detect CVE-2024-21762 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every fortinet fortios deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2024-21762 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2024-21762 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 17 known exploit references for CVE-2024-21762, including 12 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2024-21762?

CVE-2024-21762 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 83.4%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2024-21762?

CVE-2024-21762 is classified as Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2024-21762?

CVE-2024-21762 affects fortinet fortios; fortinet fortiproxy. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2024-21762 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2024-21762 was published on February 9, 2024 and was last updated on October 22, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2024-21762 — Fortios

CRITICAL

CVE-2024-21762 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in fortinet fortios. 17 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available — see the affected versions and patch details below.

A out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.4.0 through 7.4.2, FortiOS 7.2.0 through 7.2.6, FortiOS 7.0.0 through 7.0.13, FortiOS 6.4.0 through 6.4.14, FortiOS 6.2.0 through…

Published

Feb 9, 2024

Updated

Oct 22, 2026

Affected

2 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

17 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

CISA’s SSVC triage classifies this CVE as under active exploitation.
CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-21762.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

83.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2024-21762 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

A out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.4.0 through 7.4.2, FortiOS 7.2.0 through 7.2.6, FortiOS 7.0.0 through 7.0.13, FortiOS 6.4.0 through 6.4.14, FortiOS 6.2.0 through 6.2.15, FortiOS 6.0 all versions, FortiProxy 7.4.0 through 7.4.2, FortiProxy 7.2.0 through 7.2.8, FortiProxy 7.0.0 through 7.0.14, FortiProxy 2.0.0 through 2.0.13, FortiProxy 01.02 all versions, FortiProxy 1.2 all versions, FortiProxy 01.01 all versions, FortiProxy 1.1 all versions, FortiProxy 01.00 all versions allows attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via specifically crafted requests

Affected Products

2 products · 10 configurations

fortiosfortinet

≥ 7.4.0 && < 7.4.3

range

Application

fortiproxyfortinet

≥ 7.4.0 && < 7.4.3

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.