Secure Firewall Management Center

Cisco Talos: Ransomware and state hackers exploit FMC firewall flaws

Cisco Talos reported that three distinct threat groups—including Qilin ransomware affiliates and state-sponsored actors—have been exploiting two vulnerabilities in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center. The flaws, a maximum-severity authentication bypass (CVE-2026-20079) and a static credential issue (CVE-2026-20316), let attackers gain root access, deploy web shells, steal credentials, and in some cases install Qilin ransomware or Cyclops Blink malware. Cisco has issued hot fixes and urges immediate patching, with broader hardening updates planned next week.

bleepingcomputer.com · 2026-09-10

Cisco confirms active exploitation of critical Secure FMC bug CVE-2026-20079

Cisco has verified that attackers are actively exploiting CVE-2026-20079, a maximum-severity (CVSS 10.0) flaw in its Secure Firewall Management Center software that lets unauthenticated remote attackers bypass login and run commands as root. The company first disclosed the bug in March without evidence of exploitation, but updated its advisory this week to acknowledge PSIRT detected active attacks in August, though it hasn't shared attacker identity or attack timeline details. CISA has since added the flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, giving federal agencies until September 12 to patch.

bleepingcomputer.com · 2026-09-09