Critical severity · published Jan 15, 2016
CVE-2016-1909
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16,…
9.8
CVSS
71.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)71.3% · higher than 99% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
FO
FortiOS · Fortinet
through 4.3.16; 5.0; 5.0.0; 5.0.1; 5.0.2; 5.0.3; +4 more · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1909
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1909
blog.fortinet.com
http://blog.fortinet.com/post/brief-statement-regarding-issues-found-with-fortios
Exploit
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/135225/FortiGate-OS-5.0.7-SSH-Backdoor.html
Exploit
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Jan/26
www.fortiguard.com
http://www.fortiguard.com/advisory/multiple-products-ssh-undocumented-login-vulnerability
www.securitytracker.com
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034663
twitter.com
https://twitter.com/esizkur/status/686842135501508608
More from FortiOS
9.8
CVE-2026-24858
Fortinet Multiple Products Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability
9.8
CVE-2025-25249
Fortinet Multiple Products Heap-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
9.8
CVE-2025-59718
Fortinet Multiple Products Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature Vulnerability
9.8
CVE-2024-55591
Fortinet FortiOS and FortiProxy Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
9.8
CVE-2024-23113
Fortinet Multiple Products Format String Vulnerability