Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Fortinet FortiClientEMS versions 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 have a critical access-control flaw. An unauthenticated attacker could send crafted requests to run unauthorized code or commands. CISA lists this CVE in KEV, so treat it as exploited in the wild and prioritize immediate action.
Executive priority
Immediate. This is critical, unauthenticated, remotely reachable, and listed by CISA as known exploited. Assign emergency remediation ownership and verify closure across all FortiClientEMS deployments.
Technical view
CVE-2026-35616 is CWE-284 improper access control in Fortinet FortiClientEMS. CVSS 3.1 is 9.1: network-accessible, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. Sources describe unauthenticated code or command execution via crafted requests.
Likely exposure
Organizations running FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 or 7.4.6 are the identified exposure group. Risk is highest where EMS services are reachable from the internet or broad internal networks.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV status indicates known exploitation. The provided sources do not include exploit details, payloads, or attacker targeting information. The vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction, increasing operational urgency.
Researcher notes
The bundle title states 7.4.5 through 7.4.6. Affected metadata lists 7.4.5 while CPEs include 7.4.5 and 7.4.6, so confirm exact affected and fixed versions in Fortinet’s advisory before closure.
Mitigation direction
- Check Fortinet PSIRT FG-IR-26-099 for the official fixed version and upgrade guidance.
- Prioritize remediation of internet-facing FortiClientEMS instances first.
- Restrict network access to FortiClientEMS management interfaces to trusted administrative paths.
- Increase monitoring for suspicious requests to FortiClientEMS until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Inventory FortiClientEMS deployments and record exact versions.
- Confirm whether any instance runs 7.4.5 or 7.4.6.
- Verify whether FortiClientEMS is reachable from the internet or untrusted networks.
- Review Fortinet advisory and CISA KEV entry for current remediation deadlines and updates.
- After remediation, confirm the installed version is no longer in the affected range.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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-284: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. 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 lookupCVE-2026-35616 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C
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.
CISA KEV status
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe 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.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C3.95.9fortinetVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
9.1CriticalVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- Added to KEVCISA-ADP
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities metadata lists this CVE as known exploited.
- ADP timelineCISA-ADP
CVE-2026-35616 added to CISA KEV
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2026-04-06T00:00:00.000Z: CVE-2026-35616 added to CISA KEV
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://fortiguard.fortinet.com/psirt/FG-IR-26-099CVE reference, fortinet
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-35616CVE reference, CISA-ADP · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Access Control
Improper Access Control represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.