What is CVE-2017-17540?

CVE-2017-17540 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Fortinet Fortiwlc, classified under Use of Hard-coded Credentials. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-05-08.

How severe is CVE-2017-17540?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Fortinet Fortiwlc

CVE-2017-17540

The presence of a hardcoded account in Fortinet FortiWLC 8.3.3 allows attackers to gain unauthorized read/write access via a remote shell.

Published 2018-05-08 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.020 (80.0th percentile), scored 2026-09-29.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 80th percentile — 80.0% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.021 · newest: 0.020 · change: -0.001

Affected products

Fortinet Fortiwlc
Fortinet, Inc. Fortiwlc — versions 8.3.3

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-798 — Use of Hard-coded Credentials

References

fortiguard.com/advisory/FG-IR-17-274 (Vendor Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/104119 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-17540?: CVE-2017-17540 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Fortinet Fortiwlc, classified under Use of Hard-coded Credentials. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-05-08.
How severe is CVE-2017-17540?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.