Exploited CVEs / Fortinet / CVE-2021-44168
CVE-2021-44168
Fortinet FortiOS Arbitrary File Download. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2021-12-24 (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, High severity, CVSS 7.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2021-12-10.
Risk summary
Updated July 26, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.
Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2021-44168
Fortinet FortiOS downloads code through the 'execute restore src-vis' command without integrity checking, letting an attacker pull arbitrary files onto the firewall. The 1% EPSS score suggests targeted rather than mass exploitation, but the KEV listing confirms real attacks, likely by operators who already hold some access and want persistence on the security device itself. Severity is High at CVSS 7.8.
Do this: Update FortiOS and review firewall configuration archives and local files for content your team did not put there.
AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.
Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2021-44168
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.
Full tracking and change history for CVE-2021-44168
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: 2021-12-24 (past due).
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Official fix for CVE-2021-44168
The authoritative fix and affected-version list are published by the vendor. Find the FortiOS advisory on Fortinet PSIRT Advisories.
Common questions about CVE-2021-44168
Is CVE-2021-44168 actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2021-44168 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-12-10, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is <1%.
What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2021-44168?
CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2021-12-24, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
What fixes CVE-2021-44168?
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-2021-44168?
Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2021-44168'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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All Fortinet exploited CVEs on one page: Fortinet vulnerabilities actively exploited.
Authoritative references
Every actively exploited CVE, searchable with due dates and CSV export: the exploited-CVE tracker. The newest additions: exploited this week.
