Exploited CVEs / Fortinet / CVE-2018-13379
CVE-2018-13379
Fortinet FortiOS SSL VPN Path Traversal Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted, and the vulnerability is known to be used in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. The fix is in the vendor advisory: Fortinet PSIRT Advisories, linked below.
Actively exploited Fortinet FortiOS vulnerability, Critical severity, CVSS 9.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2021-11-03.
Risk summary
Updated July 26, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.
Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2018-13379
The FortiOS SSL VPN path traversal is arguably the most consequential VPN flaw of its generation: unauthenticated attackers download system files including plaintext VPN credentials, and lists of tens of thousands of harvested credentials circulated freely among ransomware crews for years. EPSS is 100 percent, Severity is Critical at CVSS 9.8, and ransomware use is confirmed. Credentials stolen before patching remain valid until someone resets them.
Do this: Verify FortiGate firmware is fixed, reset every SSL VPN credential that existed before the patch, and enforce MFA on the portal.
AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.
Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2018-13379
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.
Full tracking and change history for CVE-2018-13379
Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.
CISA required action
Federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date: 2022-05-03 (past due).
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Official fix for CVE-2018-13379
The authoritative fix and affected-version list are published by the vendor. Find the FortiOS advisory on Fortinet PSIRT Advisories.
Common questions about CVE-2018-13379
Is CVE-2018-13379 actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2018-13379 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 100%. CISA also reports it is known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2018-13379?
CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2022-05-03, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
What fixes CVE-2018-13379?
The authoritative fix is in the vendor advisory: see Fortinet PSIRT Advisories for the patched FortiOS versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.
Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2018-13379?
Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2018-13379's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central).
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Authoritative references
Every actively exploited CVE, searchable with due dates and CSV export: the exploited-CVE tracker. The newest additions: exploited this week.
