{"id":"CVE-2026-20079","published":"2026-03-04T18:16:24Z","modified":"2026-09-16T17:17:16Z","title":"Cisco Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vulnerability","vendor":"Cisco","product":"Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) and Security Cloud Control (SCC) Firewall Management","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"A vulnerability in the web interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and execute script files on an affected device to obtain root access to the underlying operating system. \r\n\r\nThis vulnerability is due to an improper system process that is created at boot time. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute a variety of scripts and commands that allow root access to the device. ","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"A flaw in the web interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software, part of the Secure Firewall Management Center and Security Cloud Control firewall management offerings, stems from an improper system process created at boot time that allows authentication to be bypassed. An unauthenticated attacker on the network can exploit it by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device, requiring no credentials or user interaction, to execute scripts and commands that grant root access to the underlying operating system.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:02:58Z"},"cvss":{"score":10.0,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.88658,"percentile":0.99774,"date":"2026-10-30","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2026-09-09","dueDate":"2026-09-12","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"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.","notes":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2 ; BOD 26-04: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; Forensics Triage Requirements: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-implementation-guidance-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20079","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2026-09-09","exploitedFirstSeen":"2026-09-09","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://blog.talosintelligence.com/fmc-ongoing-exploitation/","date":"2026-09-09"},{"url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2","date":"2026-09-09"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2026-09-09"},{"url":"https://cydome.io/maritime-cybersecurity-bulletin-september-11th-2026/","date":"2026-09-11"},{"url":"https://asec.ahnlab.com/en/95733/","date":"2026-10-07"},{"url":"https://www.recordedfuture.com/blog/september-2026-cve-landscape","date":"2026-10-13"},{"url":"https://blog.securelayer7.net/cve-2026-20079-cisco-firewall-management-center/","date":"2026-10-23"}],"evidenceTotal":7,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 31, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae4aefab0c2191cecd41862","created":"2026-10-30"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 30, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae35d889ea92b4ce19c2680","created":"2026-10-29"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-288","name":"Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel"}],"references":[{"url":"https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Aug/80","tags":["Exploit","Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://blog.talosintelligence.com/fmc-ongoing-exploitation/","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-20079","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: Unauthenticated HTTP exploitation of public-facing web interface","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected device","start":368,"end":467}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[{"id":"SRC-4cf3172d190519e868ee","title":"Blog | Arctic Wolf","publisher":"arcticwolf.com","url":"https://arcticwolf.com/resources/blog/","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"CVE-2026-20316, CVE-2026-20079: Active Exploitation of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Zero-Day","start":9292,"end":9395}]}],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2026-9438","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2026-9438","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2026-09-09","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":2,"skipped":1,"earliest":"2026-03-28","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/0xBlackash/CVE-2026-20079","repos":[{"name":"CyberAuth/CVE-2026-20079","url":"https://github.com/CyberAuth/CVE-2026-20079","stars":6,"created":"2026-08-17"},{"name":"0xBlackash/CVE-2026-20079","url":"https://github.com/0xBlackash/CVE-2026-20079","stars":0,"created":"2026-03-28"}]},"metasploit":[{"name":"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass RCE","module":"exploit/linux/http/cisco_fmc_auth_bypass_rce","type":"exploit","disclosureDate":"2026-03-04","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/cisco_fmc_auth_bypass_rce.rb"}],"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2026-20079","name":"Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center - Authentication Bypass","severity":"critical","path":"http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-20079.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-20079.yaml"}],"first":{"date":"2026-03-04","source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/cisco_fmc_auth_bypass_rce.rb"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":["http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Aug/80","https://blog.talosintelligence.com/fmc-ongoing-exploitation/"],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"ai"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-03-04","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-20079","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-03-04","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: Metasploit; later: PoC-in-GitHub 2026-03-28","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/http/cisco_fmc_auth_bypass_rce.rb","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-09-09","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://blog.talosintelligence.com/fmc-ongoing-exploitation/","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-09-09","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-09-09","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2026-9438","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":0,"firstExploitFrom":"Metasploit","daysToKev":189},"priority":{"score":83.8,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":10.0,"detail":"added 52 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.95,"detail":"percentile 0.9977"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":3.87,"detail":"1 report"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"2 NVD references tagged Exploit; 2 PoC-in-GitHub repos; 1 Metasploit module; 1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":7.0,"detail":"base score 10.0"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}