InfraTrust report warns network management systems under attack
Active exploitation of critical Cisco and SonicWall management system vulnerabilities is a major trend, with attackers chaining flaws and deploying ransomware.
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CVE-2026-20316
Hard-Coded Password Vulnerability in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center
CISA: Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Use of Hard-coded Password Vulnerability
- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 medium
- EPSS
- 35%p98
- Published
- ·
- Added to KEV
AI analysisSummaries by Vani AI
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), formerly Firepower Management Center, contains a use of hard-coded password vulnerability (CWE-259) that allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected system. By authenticating with the built-in hard-coded credentials for a low-privileged account, the attacker can gain access to sensitive data within the impacted systems. Any organization running an affected Cisco FMC deployment is exposed, particularly where the management interface is reachable from untrusted networks. The flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-07-29, indicating active exploitation in the wild, and related reporting describes active exploitation of FMC vulnerabilities. No CVSS score or public proof-of-concept is yet available, but EPSS assigns a 9.8% probability of exploitation within 30 days (95th percentile).
What to do: Upgrade FMC to the fixed release per Cisco's security advisory, as no specific fixed version is provided in this data. Until patched, restrict access to the FMC management interface, audit recent logins against the affected low-privileged accounts, and rotate or remove any hard-coded credentials. Federal agencies must apply mitigations per CISA BOD 26-04 given the KEV listing dated 2026-07-29.
| Product | Affected |
|---|---|
| Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) | — |
Estimated exposure
largeplausibly tens of thousands of FMC deployments worldwide (no published install base) — FMC is the standard management console for Cisco's Secure Firewall/Firepower line, one of the most widely deployed enterprise firewall platforms, so installations plausibly number in the tens of thousands, with a subset of management…
Order-of-magnitude estimate by the model from install counts, market share and public scan data it knows; verify before quoting.
Description · NVD
A vulnerability in the web interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to log in to an affected device using a low-privileged account to access sensitive data within the impacted systems. This vulnerability is due to the presence of static user credentials for a low-privileged account. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by using the account to log in to an affected system. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the affected system and access sensitive data as the low-privileged user. Note: If the FMC management interface does not have public internet access, the attack surface that is associated with this vulnerability is reduced. Cisco has assigned this security advisory a Security Impact Rating (SIR) of High rather than Medium as the score indicates. The reason is that this vulnerability can be used with other Cisco Secure FMC Software vulnerabilities to elevate privileges.
KEVCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability
- Affected
- Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC)
- Required action
- Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.
- Due date
- Ransomware use
- Known
- Vendors
- cisco
- Products
- secure firewall management center
- Weakness
- CWE-259
- Vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
In the news
20 storiesAttackers Exploit Critical Cisco FMC Flaw to deploy Qilin ransomware
Three threat groups, including Qilin ransomware operators, exploit critical Cisco FMC flaws CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20316 for root access, credential theft, and ransomware.
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Active exploitation of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vulnerabilities
Cisco Talos reports in-the-wild exploitation of critical FMC flaw CVE-2026-20079 by three clusters including a Sandworm-linked APT and Qilin ransomware affiliates.
90
Cisco FMC bugs exploited by nation-state and ransomware actors (CVE-2026-20079, CVE-2026-20316)
Cisco Talos confirms nation-state (Sandworm) and ransomware (Qilin) actors actively exploit CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20316 in Secure Firewall Management Center.
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Organizations Warned of Cisco Secure FMC Exploitation
Cisco and CISA warn that critical FMC authentication bypass CVE-2026-20079 is actively exploited; CISA added it to the KEV catalog with a September 12 deadline.
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Critical Cisco FMC Flaws Actively Exploited to Gain Root Access and Deploy Malware
Threat actors actively exploit Cisco FMC CVE-2026-20079 (CVSS 10.0) for root access, with clusters linked to Sandworm and Qilin ransomware.
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Root RCE Zero-Day in Cisco Secure Email Gateway Under Active Exploitation
Cisco warns CVE-2026-76461 (CVSS 9.8), an unauthenticated root RCE in Secure Email Gateway AsyncOS, is actively exploited in the wild.
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Cisco confirms CVE-2026-20079 Secure FMC flaw exploited in attacks
Cisco confirmed active exploitation of CVE-2026-20079, a CVSS 10.0 authentication bypass enabling unauthenticated root command execution in Secure FMC; CISA added it to KEV.
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Cisco FMC Flaws Exploited to Steal Credentials and Deploy Qilin Ransomware
Three threat clusters including a Sandworm-linked group and Qilin ransomware operators exploit Cisco FMC flaws CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20316.
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Cisco FMC flaws exploited by ransomware gang, state-sponsored hackers
Cisco Talos confirms ransomware and state-sponsored groups exploited CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20316 in Secure Firewall Management Center, deploying Qilin ransomware and Cyclops Blink.
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Hackers Exploit Critical Cisco Firewall Flaw to Gain Root Access and Deploy Malware
State-sponsored and ransomware actors actively exploit critical Cisco FMC flaws CVE-2026-20079 (CVSS 10.0) and CVE-2026-20316 to gain root access and deploy ransomware.
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Cisco Fixes Dozens of Flaws Across FMC, ISE and Nexus Dashboard
Cisco patches dozens of critical flaws in FMC, ISE and Nexus Dashboard, including ISE bugs and an authentication bypass already exploited in the wild.
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Sandworm-Linked Cyclops Blink Returns With Network Scanning and Packet-Sniffing Capabilities
Sophos uncovers a 64-bit Cyclops Blink variant on hacked Cisco FMC appliances, adding internal network scanning and selective packet capture; linked to Sandworm.
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Week in review: Linux rootkit deployed on F5 BIG-IP APM devices, Cisco FMC bugs exploited
Weekly roundup: Cisco FMC and N-able N-central zero-days exploited in the wild, MikroTik RouterOS hijacks, Microsoft Patch Tuesday ships two exploited zero-days.
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ZDI-26-533: Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center login.cgi Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
ZDI discloses CVE-2026-20316, a 9.8-rated unauthenticated authentication bypass in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center login.cgi.
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Cisco Patches 12 SD-WAN and IOS XE Flaws, Including Three 9.9 CVSS Score Bugs
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July 2026 CVE Landscape
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