CVE-2026-20079 + CVE-2026-20131 – Authentication bypass and remote code execution in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC)
Critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-20079 + CVE-2026-20131) exists in the web interface of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) Software that could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and execute script files on an affected device, potentially obtaining root access to the underlying operating system. The issue is caused by an improper system process created at boot time; an attacker can exploit it by sending crafted HTTP requests to an affected FMC instance. Cisco’s published metrics assign a CVSSv3.1 base score of 10.0 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating critical severity. Successful exploitation can allow full system compromise, execution of arbitrary scripts and commands as root, and complete loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the appliance.
The IONIX research team is tracking ongoing exploitation attempts and recommends immediate patching. Potentially affected assets are outlined in this post.
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