BlackTreeCVE Intelligence
← Back to the CVE catalogue
Full vulnerability report · 2019
CVE-2019-6693High confidence

Fortinet FortiOS Use of Hard-Coded Credentials Vulnerability

Fortinet · FortiOS

6.5MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Mitigate now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2025-07-16 as the remediation due date.

Mitigation available
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityMediumOperational priority:Critical, raised 2 bands.upgradedsince 25 Jun 2025

Evidence used

  • CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
  • EPSS is 5.83% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Apply the linked authoritative mitigation while planning the permanent fix.
  • Restrict the affected network interface to trusted sources where business-safe.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Fortinet FortiOS and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: Within 3 daysRemediation target: Within 90 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2019-16251

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file may allow an attacker with access to the backup file to decipher the sensitive data, via knowledge of the hard-coded key. The aforementioned sensitive data includes users' passwords (except the administrator's password), private keys' passphrases and High Availability password (when set).

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 25 Jun 2025. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
6.5 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionMitigate now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2025-07-16 as the remediation due date.

Mitigation available
01

What, why and how

Fortinet FortiOS contains a use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability that could allow an attacker to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file via knowledge of the hard-coded key.

What

Fortinet FortiOS contains a use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability that could allow an attacker to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file via knowledge of the hard-coded key.

Why

A credential embedded in the product can be recovered or reused across installations instead of being unique to one deployment.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Fortinet FortiOS contains a use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability that could allow an attacker to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file via knowledge of the hard-coded key.

Why

A credential embedded in the product can be recovered or reused across installations instead of being unique to one deployment.

How

An attacker operating through a network path may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2025-06-25. Known ransomware campaign use is recorded.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
a network path → Use of Hard-coded Credentials → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Network
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-798 ↗

CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials. The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVNetworkAttack vector: The vulnerable component can be reached over a network.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
Stolen credentials, tokens and legitimate administration functions may provide continued access without deploying a large custom toolset.
NetworkCWE-798CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-16251Known-exploited evidence recorded

Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file may allow an attacker with access to the backup file to decipher the sensitive data, via knowledge of the hard-coded key. The aforementioned sensitive data includes users' passwords (except the administrator's password), private keys' passphrases and High Availability password (when set).

Official EUVD record ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2019-AVI-584Vulnérabilité dans Fortinet FortiOS

Une vulnérabilité a été découverte dans Fortinet FortiOS. Elle permet à un attaquant de provoquer une atteinte à l'intégrité des données et une atteinte à la confidentialité des données.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2019-012406FortiOS コンフィグレーションのバックアップファイルにおけるハードコードされた認証情報の使用に関する脆弱性

FortiOS コンフィグレーションのバックアップファイルには、ハードコードされた認証情報の使用に関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-6505美 CISA 발표 주요 Exploit 정보공유(Update. 2025-06-25)

Fortinet FortiOS contains a use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability that could allow an attacker to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file via knowledge of the hard-coded key.

Official advisory ↗
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Mitigation available
Affected
FortiGate: 5.6.9 and below, 6.0.5 and below, 6.2.0
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
Apply the mitigation in the linked authoritative guidance while planning the vendor's permanent fix.
Workaround
A mitigation or workaround reference is available from the source linked below; validate it against the affected product and version.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 21 Nov 2019 · Last source change 4 Aug 2026, 03:55 UTC · CWE-798 · Use of Hard-coded Credentials

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-01
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-16251
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗
  1. ENISA known-exploited stateENISA EUVD now records this CVE in its known-exploited dataset.
    Before
    not listed in ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset
    After
    listed in ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset (EUVD-2019-16251)
    ENISA EUVD ↗
  2. ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2019-16251 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.
    Before
    not recorded
    After
    {"euvdId":"EUVD-2019-16251"}
    ENISA EUVD ↗
  3. Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.
    Before
    5.6.9 and below; 6.0.5 and below; 6.2.0 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    After
    FortiGate: 5.6.9 and below, 6.0.5 and below, 6.2.0 · Fixed: No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
    CNA ↗
  4. Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added mitigation: fortiguard.com/FG-IR-19-007; added remediation: fortiguard.com/FG-IR-19-007.
    Before
    no authoritative guidance recorded
    After
    mitigation: fortiguard.com/FG-IR-19-007 · remediation: fortiguard.com/FG-IR-19-007
    fortiguard.com ↗
  5. Remediation statusRemediation status changed from Awaiting fix to Mitigation available.
    Before
    Awaiting fix
    After
    Mitigation available
    fortiguard.com ↗
  6. CVSS scoreCVSS scoring authority changed from CISA ADP to NIST NVD; the displayed base score remained 6.5.
    Before
    6.5 (CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N)
    After
    6.5 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N)
    NIST NVD ↗
  7. Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.
    CNA ↗
Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Mitigation reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2019-16251↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2019-6693 · cve.blacktree.nl