CVE-2016-1909
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3;...
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.
- Record
CVE-2016-1909- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 10.0 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-264
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.
- Record
CVE-2016-1909- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2016-3000 No score
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.
- Record
EUVD-2016-3000- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wpg3-7qph-4gvp
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3;...
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.
- Record
GHSA-wpg3-7qph-4gvp- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Exploit-DB | Fortinet FortiGate 4.x < 5.0.7 - SSH Backdoor Access | 2016-01-09 |
| Metasploit | Fortinet SSH Backdoor Scanner | 2016-01-09 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, Metasploit, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2016-1909 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Fortinet Fortios, published January 15, 2016. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 71.3%, the 99th percentile. No source names a fixed version.
References
blog.fortinet.com/post/brief-statement-regarding-issues-found-with-fortios
seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Jan/26
packetstormsecurity.com/files/135225/FortiGate-OS-5.0.7-SSH-Backdoor.html
securitytracker.com/id/1034663
twitter.com/esizkur/status/686842135501508608
fortiguard.com/advisory/multiple-products-ssh-undocumented-login-vulnerability
exploit-db.com/exploits/39224
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1909
github.com/advisories/GHSA-wpg3-7qph-4gvp