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.
CVE-2026-20079
“—” beside the score: it is equal to the CVSS score beside it.
Score elevated to 10.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-09-09), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. It is also listed on ENISA's EU Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue (Source: ENISA EUVD). The CNA's CVSS baseline 10.0 retained for reference (NVD's own analysis pending). Confidence: HIGH.
Also known asEUVD-2026-9438 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg (GitHub Security Advisories)Source: ENISA EUVD
- Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV) — the reason this is sooner than the SSVC decision on this page at low mission impact
No fix is confirmed yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for the fix.
- CVSS v3
- 10.0
- EG Score
- 10.0CRITICALhigh confidence
- EG Risk
- 100EG Risk 100/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity100% × 45%Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 10.0 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.Exploitation100% × 40%Fixed at 100% for a CISA KEV listing: EchelonGraph's rule.Automatability100% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: yes (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Attend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: No fix is confirmed yet. Check the vendor's advisory for a fixed release; until one is applied, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation sooner than your normal schedule at low mission impact and as soon as possible at medium or high. - EPSS PROB
- 89%
- EPSS %ILE
- 99th
- KEV
- ⚠ Exploited
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (10.0): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 10.0 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 10.0 CRITICALCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 89% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-01). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- CISA KEV and ENISA EU KEV (Source: ENISA EUVD) and EG-KEV Tier 1 (exploited in the wild)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Act at medium mission impactAttend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.CISA BOD 26-04: 3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 3 days & forensic triage if it is not.No released fix is confirmed on this page, but CISA's timeline does not wait for a fix's release: this CVE is in CISA's KEV catalog, and CISA's required action for it, quoted below, applies whether or not a fix is released.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
ENISA EU KEV: listed September 9, 2026, reported by ENISA.
Source: ENISA EUVD (EU Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue), reproduced with acknowledgement. How a listing moves the EG score
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Attend at low mission impact; Act at medium or high.
No fix is confirmed yet. Check the vendor's advisory for a fixed release; until one is applied, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation sooner than your normal schedule at low mission impact and as soon as possible at medium or high.
Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 3 days & forensic triage if it is not.
No released fix is confirmed on this page, but CISA's timeline does not wait for a fix's release: this CVE is in CISA's KEV catalog, and CISA's required action for it, quoted below, applies whether or not a fix is released.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV yes (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
CISA required action“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.”
Quoted verbatim from CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. CISA directs it at US federal civilian executive branch agencies under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, which replaced BOD 22-01 on 10 June 2026; it is not EchelonGraph's advice. CISA's notes: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2 · https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk · 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
Published
March 4, 2026
Last Modified
September 16, 2026
Advisory Details (4)
Auto-updated Oct 29, 2026Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA
Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-20079Active exploitation of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vulnerabilities
https://blog.talosintelligence.com/fmc-ongoing-exploitation/Full Disclosure: CVE-2026-20079 - Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass to Root RCE
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Aug/80Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-20079(2)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
- GHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrgGitHub Security AdvisoriesCritical
A vulnerability in the web interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software...
- cisco-sa-onprem-fmc-authbypass-5JPp45V2Cisco PSIRT openVulnCritical
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Software Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
Weakness Classification(1)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 16× in last 7d / 114× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 381 refreshes on record for this CVE.
A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. None are among the latest 100 rows. The 281 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.
- 2026-11-01 19:34 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-11-01 19:34 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-31 18:45 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-31 18:45 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-30 17:55 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-30 17:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-30 16:34 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 89% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-29 17:06 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-29 17:06 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-28 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-28 16:17 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-28 16:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-27 15:27 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-27 15:27 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-26 14:37 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-26 14:37 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-25 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-25 13:47 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-25 13:47 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-25 13:46 UTCENISA EU KEV listingEUVD-2026-9438 · listed September 9, 2026 · reported by ENISA · Source: ENISA EUVD
- 2026-10-24 17:58 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-24 17:58 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-23 17:09 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-23 17:09 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-22 16:17 UTCEG score recompute
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- 2026-10-22 16:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-21 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-21 15:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-21 15:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-20 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-20 14:37 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-20 14:36 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-19 13:47 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-19 13:47 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-18 12:57 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-18 03:57 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-17 12:07 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-17 12:07 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-16 11:18 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-16 11:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-15 16:31 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-15 10:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-15 10:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-14 16:32 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-14 09:36 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 09:36 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-13 08:46 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-13 08:46 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-12 16:24 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-12 07:54 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-12 03:47 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-11 23:43 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-11 19:36 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 19:36 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-11 17:19 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 15:32 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-11 14:51 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 11:28 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 11:28 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-11 07:22 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-11 03:18 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-10 23:12 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-10 23:12 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-10 19:59 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-10 19:08 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-10 15:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-10 10:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-10 06:51 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-10 02:47 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-09 22:42 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-09 18:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-09 14:33 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-09 10:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-09 06:21 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-09 02:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-08 22:11 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-08 18:07 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-08 14:02 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-08 09:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-08 05:52 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-08 01:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-07 21:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-07 17:40 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-07 13:35 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-07 09:31 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-07 05:25 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-07 01:21 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-06 21:17 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-06 17:13 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-06 17:13 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-06 15:17 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-06 13:08 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-06 09:04 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-06 05:00 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-06 00:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-05 20:52 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-05 20:52 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-05 17:42 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 88% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-05 16:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
- 2026-10-05 12:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-mv8w-c2qv-cgrg · GitHub severity CRITICAL · GitHub CVSS 10.0
Publicly available exploits
(4 references)Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 Metasploit module, 2 GitHub PoCs), as is 1 Nuclei detection template. A detection template checks whether a system is affected; it is not necessarily exploit code. No fix is confirmed yet, so defenders should restrict or isolate affected systems accordingly until one is published.
- Metasploitexploit/linux/http/cisco_fmc_auth_bypass_rce✓ verifiedPublished Sep 9, 2026
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass RCE
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoCCyberAuth/CVE-2026-20079Published Aug 17, 2026
Python proof of concept for CVE-2026-20079 affecting Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center.
Open source ↗ - Nucleihttp/cves/2026/CVE-2026-20079.yamlPublished Apr 13, 2026
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center - Authentication Bypass
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoC0xBlackash/CVE-2026-20079Published Mar 28, 2026
CVE-2026-20079
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Frequently asked(6)
What is CVE-2026-20079?
When was the CVE record for CVE-2026-20079 published?
Is CVE-2026-20079 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-20079?
Which products are affected by CVE-2026-20079?
How do I remediate CVE-2026-20079?
Dependency Blast Radius
Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2026-20079
Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2026-20079?
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