Cisco · Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) · Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Use of Hard-coded Password Vulnerability
Verdict
Patch first · actively exploited, reachable from the internet without credentials, and in the top 5% of CVEs by near-term exploitation probability
Added to CISA KEV 2026-07-29 · exploited in the wild for 60 days · used in ransomware campaigns
CVSS 5.3 MEDIUM. The score is a summary; these three components are the part that decides whether something scanning the internet can use it.
| Attack vector | networkreachable over the network, with no local access needed |
|---|---|
| Privileges required | noneneeds no credentials at all |
| User interaction | nonecan be triggered with nobody interacting with the page or request |
| Base vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N |
| Weakness | CWE-259 |
This describes the vulnerability. It says nothing about whether your systems run it.
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.3510, which places it in the top 5% of all tracked CVEs. The percentile is the more useful half: 0.18 in absolute terms sounds low until you know most of the internet-facing software in the world scores under that.
| EPSS probability | 0.3510 |
|---|---|
| Percentile | 0.984 — top 5% |
| Added to KEV | 2026-07-29 |
|---|---|
| Days exploited | 60 |
| Federal remediation due | not set |
| Ransomware use | known to be used in ransomware campaigns |
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.
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.