Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Actively exploited. At least one CVE in this advisory is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog — exploitation has been observed in the wild. Treat remediation as urgent.
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. This 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. 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 released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2 This advisory is part of the March 2026 release of the Cisco Secure Firewall ASA, Secure FMC, and Secure FTD Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see Cisco Event Response: March 2026 Semiannual Cisco Secure Firewall ASA, Secure FMC, and Secure FTD Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication . Security Impact Rating: Critical CVE: CVE-2026-20079
CSIRTS triage
- What
- A vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to bypass authentication and gain root access.
- Who is affected
- Deployments of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software.
- Urgency
- Remediation is critical due to the potential for full system compromise.
- Action
- Apply the released software updates to mitigate this vulnerability.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
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Details
Exploitation outlook
EPSS (FIRST.org) estimates each CVE’s probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — here is the CSIRTS.com read on those numbers.
- Exploitation confirmedCVE-2026-20079Already exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) — the prediction phase is over. Patch now. Riskier than 99.5% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Referenced CVEs
| CVE | CSIRTS overview | External |
|---|---|---|
| CVE-2026-20079 | coverage & exploitation status | NVD · CVE.org |
Same CVEs, other sources
How other CERTs, PSIRTs and databases cover the vulnerabilities in this advisory.
- criticalexploited[UPDATE] [kritisch] Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center: Mehrere Schwachstellencert-bund
- unknownexploitedNCSC-2026-0076 [1.03] [H/H] Kwetsbaarheden verholpen in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Centerncsc-nl
- unknownexploitedNCSC-2026-0076 [1.02] [H/H] Kwetsbaarheden verholpen in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Centerncsc-nl
- criticalexploitedCisco security advisory (AV26-197) – Update 3cccs
- highexploitedCISA Adds Four Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalogcisa
- criticalexploitedCVE-2026-20079: Cisco Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel Vuln…cisa-kev
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