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CVE Record

CVE-2026-20079: Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Authentication Bypass Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

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. 

CriticalCVSS 10Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

An unauthenticated attacker who can reach a vulnerable Cisco FMC web interface may take full control of the management appliance. Successful exploitation provides root access, creating severe confidentiality, integrity, and availability risk for a security-critical system.

Executive priority

Treat as an emergency management-plane vulnerability. Identify exposed FMC appliances immediately, restrict access, and follow Cisco's remediation guidance. Because successful exploitation grants root control without credentials, affected externally reachable systems warrant the fastest response.

Technical view

CVE-2026-20079 is a CWE-288 authentication bypass caused by an improper system process created during boot. Crafted HTTP requests can trigger script and command execution as root. Its CVSS 3.1 score is 10.0, with network access, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction required.

Likely exposure

Organizations running any listed Cisco FMC version should treat it as potentially affected. Risk is greatest when the web interface is reachable from the internet or other untrusted networks. The bundle provides no default affected status beyond the enumerated versions.

Exploitation context

The supplied sources describe remote, unauthenticated exploitation through crafted HTTP requests. The CVE is not marked as present in CISA KEV, and the bundle provides no evidence of active exploitation or public exploit availability.

Researcher notes

The boot-created process is identified as the underlying weakness, but the bundle does not provide sufficient implementation detail to assess exploit reliability or detection artifacts. Fixed versions, workarounds, and indicators of compromise are not included; consult the live Cisco advisory.

Mitigation direction

  • Consult Cisco's advisory immediately for applicable fixed releases or interim mitigations.
  • Upgrade affected FMC installations according to Cisco's current guidance.
  • Restrict FMC web-interface access to trusted administrative networks and hosts.
  • Monitor the management interface for unexpected HTTP activity and unauthorized administrative changes.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory all FMC appliances and record their exact software versions.
  • Compare each version with Cisco's current affected and fixed-release tables.
  • Confirm the web interface is not reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review appliance logs and configuration changes for unexplained activity or compromise indicators.
  • Verify root-level integrity after remediation; rebuild from trusted media if compromise is suspected.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-288: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
description · low confidence lookup

Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-20079 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
10 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
2Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
10CVSS 3.1CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H3.96cisco

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

10Critical
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2026-20079Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC)7.0.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.1, 7.1.0, 7.0.1.1, 7.1.0.1, 7.0.2, 7.2.0, 7.0.2.1, 7.0.3, 7.1.0.2, 7.2.0.1, 7.0.4, 7.2.1, 7.0.5, 7.3.0, 7.2.2, 7.3.1, 7.2.3, 7.1.0.3, 7.2.3.1, 7.2.4, 7.0.6, 7.2.4.1, 7.2.5, 7.3.1.1, 7.4.0, 7.0.6.1, 7.2.5.1, 7.4.1, 7.2.6, 7.4.1.1, 7.0.6.2, 7.2.7, 7.2.5.2, 7.3.1.2, 7.2.8, 7.6.0, 7.4.2, 7.2.8.1, 7.0.6.3, 7.4.2.1, 7.2.9, 7.0.7, 7.7.0, 7.4.2.2, 7.2.10, 7.6.1, 7.4.2.3, 7.0.8, 7.6.2, 7.7.10, 7.2.10.1, 7.0.8.1, 7.6.2.1, 7.2.10.2, 7.7.10.1, 7.4.2.4, 7.4.3, 7.7.11, 7.6.4, 10.0.0, 7.4.4, 7.4.5, 7.0.9, 7.2.11, 7.7.12, 7.6.5, 7.4.6, 10.0.1, 7.4.7unknown
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-288

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-288 · source CWE mapping

Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs