CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV Medium Authentication

CVE-2019-6693 — Fortinet FortiOS Use of Hard-Coded Credentials Vulnerability

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).

Published Nov 21, 2019 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: fortinet

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Jun 25, 2025 R akira Proofs of concept on GitHub · 4
How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • Used in ransomware campaigns (CISA)+10
  • Public exploit/PoC (github)+6
  • EPSS 6.6% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Jun 25, 2025
EPSS FIRST
6.64%
ahead of 94% of scored CVEs · Oct 15, 2026
Affects
Fortinet
FortiGate and 1 more
CVSS base
6.5
Medium · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented mitigation — fortiguard.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

CISA required action CISA

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

US federal deadline: Jul 16, 2025 — passed 457 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Fortinet FortiGate, Fortinet Fortios).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. Apply the documented mitigations until a definitive fix is available.
  4. EPSS ahead of 94% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (authentication), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Fortinet FortiGate version 5.6.9 and belowversion 6.0.5 and belowversion 6.2.0 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Fortinet Fortios ≤ 5.6.10≥ 6.0.0 and ≤ 6.0.6version 6.2.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
6.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 2.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
6.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 2.8 3.6 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
6.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
6.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
4.0 CVSS 2.0 Medium 8.0 2.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-798 · Use of Hard-coded Credentials

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Jun 25, 2025
Federal deadline
Jul 16, 2025
passed 457 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Known

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Proofs of concept on GitHub

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

Associated ransomware groups ransomware.live

akira

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 12, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 4 reading(s) · max 6.64%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Review authentication logs: logins without MFA, anomalous sessions and recently created accounts.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Jun 25, 2025 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSauthentication logs

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · fortinet/fortigate
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · fortinet/fortios
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 6.5
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2025
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Jun 24, 2025 · CISA
  • 2019
  • CVE published
    Nov 21, 2019 · fortinet

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

4 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Fortinet
every CVE for this vendor
2025-06
what else CISA listed that month
Authentication
same class
CWE-798
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-106175 A Double Free vulnerability [CWE-415] vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.6.0 through 7.6.7,... 2d
  • CVE-2026-84392 A NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability [CWE-476] vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.4 all... Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-84393 A improper validation of certificate with host mismatch vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.6.1... Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-71408 A allocation of resources without limits or throttling vulnerability in Fortinet FortiOS 7.6.0... Aug 12, 2026
  • CVE-2026-71407 Stack-based Buffer Overflow in Fortinet Fortios Aug 12, 2026
  • CVE-2026-70466 A incomplete list of disallowed inputs vulnerability in Fortinet FortiWeb 8.0.0 through… Aug 12, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2019-6693 is "Fortinet FortiOS Use of Hard-Coded Credentials Vulnerability", rated Medium. It affects FortiGate (Fortinet); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 6.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 6.64% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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