Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center Use of Hard-coded Password Vulnerability
July 31, 2026 · CISA · Severity: CRITICAL
Cisco has disclosed a critical vulnerability (CVE-2026-20316) in its Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC), formerly known as Firepower Management Center, involving a hard-coded password flaw. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated remote attackers to log in using a low-privileged account, potentially exposing sensitive data on affected systems. CISA confirmed the flaw is actively exploited in the wild and added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on July 29, 2026. Organizations using Cisco FMC are at risk of unauthorized access and data breaches if the vulnerability remains unpatched. Cisco has not yet released mitigation details, but users are urged to monitor for updates and apply patches promptly. The active exploitation underscores the urgency, as attackers could leverage this flaw to compromise network security and exfiltrate critical information.
Key Takeaways
- CVE-2026-20316 is actively exploited in the wild and has been added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- The vulnerability involves privilege escalation or authentication bypass, granting unauthorized access to sensitive functions.
- CISA BOD 26-04 requires remediation within the specified due date — apply vendor mitigations promptly.
- Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC): Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) formerly known as Firepower Management Center contains a use of hard-coded password vulnerability that 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.