CVE-2026-20316
MEDIUM · 5.3 KEV EPSS 0.8%KEV-listed, active exploitation confirmed, vendor patches available; chaining detail adds credibility.
What: Hardcoded low-privileged credentials in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) web interface allows unauthenticated remote login and sensitive data access (CVSS 5.3 MEDIUM, elevated by chaining risk).
Why it matters: KEV-listed as of 2026-07-29; multiple sources confirm active in-the-wild exploitation. Chatter emphasizes chainability with CVE-2026-20079 (CVSS 10.0) for privilege escalation to root. Cisco issued hotfixes; CISA remediation deadline Aug 19. Defender triaging underway.
Where it's seen: Security news aggregators, threat intel feeds, and practitioner social media all report confirmed exploitation and KEV addition within hours of advisory. No public PoC code shared, but active attacks documented by vendors and CISA.
RISK: HIGH — KEV-listed, confirmed active exploitation, chainable for root; low CVSS offset by realistic attack path.
Description
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.
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None