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Fortios CVE-2016-1909

CRITICAL
Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls (CWE-264)
2016-01-15 cve@mitre.org
9.8
CVSS 3.0 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Permission and access control
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 78.56%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the critical-severity affected system.

Emergency Immediate action required. Why: CRITICAL + EPSS > 30%, no patch available.
No patch listed yet 78.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

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. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 78.6%.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-264. 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. Affected products include: Fortinet Fortios. Version information: before 5.0.12.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

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.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score
5.8/10
Composite threat intelligence
EPSS Score
78.6%
Top 1% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 78.6%
Patch available No
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
CRITICAL + EPSS > 30%, no patch available
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

148
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +79
CVSS: +49
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fortinet:fortios:5.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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