Security AffairsPierluigi Paganini
Cisco FMC CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20131 grant root access
Part of the CVE-2026-20079 story · since 4 Mar
Quiet for 7 weekslast report 17 Sep14 articles7 outlets
- Wed 4 Mar, 22:51 UTC. Security Affairs, first report. Cisco FMC CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20131 grant root access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV. This article, 1st of 14.
- Thu 5 Mar, 08:56 UTC. SecurityWeek, its first report on the story. Cisco patches 50 flaws after authentication bypass CVE-2026-20079. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 5 Mar, 10:57 UTC. Infosecurity, its first report on the story. Cisco fixes 48 Secure Firewall flaws; CVE-2026-20079 auth bypass. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 5 Mar, 20:43 UTC. Dark Reading, its first report on the story. Cisco flags 48 firewall flaws; two CVEs enable FMC auth bypass. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 6 Aug, 07:51 UTC. SecurityWeek. Cisco fixes critical flaws in Catalyst SDWAN and firewall gear. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Wed 9 Sep, 23:28 UTC. SecurityOnline, its first report on the story. Cisco Warns Attackers Are Exploiting Critical FMC Flaws for Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 01:32 UTC. CISA, its first report on the story. CISA Flags Actively Exploited Cisco Firewall Flaw Enabling Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 10:30 UTC. SecurityWeek. Cisco Firewall Flaw Exploited by Sandworm and Qilin Ransomware. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 11:36 UTC. The Hacker News, its first report on the story. CISA Flags Cisco, Citrix and Fortinet Flaws Under Active Attack. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 19:46 UTC. Security Affairs. CISA Flags Four Actively Exploited Flaws Including Cisco Zero Day. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Fri 11 Sep, 07:48 UTC. The Hacker News. Cisco Firewall Flaws Exploited to Deploy Web Shells and Ransomware. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Fri 11 Sep, 10:37 UTC. Security Affairs. Cisco Firewall Flaws Exploited to Deploy Qilin Ransomware. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Mon 14 Sep, 22:16 UTC. Dark Reading. Russia-linked hackers exploit Cisco firewall flaws to deploy Cyclops Blink. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 17 Sep, 12:30 UTC. SecurityWeek. Cisco Patches Dozens of Flaws as ISE Zero Day Faces Exploitation. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
Cisco has patched two maximum-severity vulnerabilities in its Secure Firewall Management Center (FMC) that could allow attackers to gain root access to managed firewalls. The issues are CVE-2026-20079, a authentication bypass with a CVSS score of 10.0, and CVE-2026-20131, a remote code execution flaw also rated 10.0, both affecting the web interface of Cisco Secure FMC.
The authentication bypass could let unauthenticated remote attackers bypass authentication and execute scripts to obtain root access, while the RCE flaw results from insecure Java deserialization and could let an attacker run arbitrary code as root by sending a crafted serialized object. According to Cisco Security Advisory, there are no workarounds for these flaws and the company PSIRT is not aware of any public disclosure or active exploitation.
The FMC vulnerability set also extends to Cisco Security Cloud Control (SCC) Firewall Management for CVE-2026-20131. Follow-up guidance from Cisco emphasises that exploiting these would elevate privileges to root on affected devices.
How the story developed
Quiet for 7 weekslast report 17 Sep14 articles7 outlets
14 articles from 7 outlets since 4 Mar. Quiet since 17 Sep. This was the first report.
- Wed 4 Mar, 22:51 UTC. Security Affairs, first report. Cisco FMC CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20131 grant root access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV. This article, 1st of 14.
- Thu 5 Mar, 08:56 UTC. SecurityWeek, its first report on the story. Cisco patches 50 flaws after authentication bypass CVE-2026-20079. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 5 Mar, 10:57 UTC. Infosecurity, its first report on the story. Cisco fixes 48 Secure Firewall flaws; CVE-2026-20079 auth bypass. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 5 Mar, 20:43 UTC. Dark Reading, its first report on the story. Cisco flags 48 firewall flaws; two CVEs enable FMC auth bypass. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 6 Aug, 07:51 UTC. SecurityWeek. Cisco fixes critical flaws in Catalyst SDWAN and firewall gear. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Wed 9 Sep, 23:28 UTC. SecurityOnline, its first report on the story. Cisco Warns Attackers Are Exploiting Critical FMC Flaws for Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 01:32 UTC. CISA, its first report on the story. CISA Flags Actively Exploited Cisco Firewall Flaw Enabling Root Access. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 10:30 UTC. SecurityWeek. Cisco Firewall Flaw Exploited by Sandworm and Qilin Ransomware. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 11:36 UTC. The Hacker News, its first report on the story. CISA Flags Cisco, Citrix and Fortinet Flaws Under Active Attack. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 10 Sep, 19:46 UTC. Security Affairs. CISA Flags Four Actively Exploited Flaws Including Cisco Zero Day. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Fri 11 Sep, 07:48 UTC. The Hacker News. Cisco Firewall Flaws Exploited to Deploy Web Shells and Ransomware. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Fri 11 Sep, 10:37 UTC. Security Affairs. Cisco Firewall Flaws Exploited to Deploy Qilin Ransomware. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Mon 14 Sep, 22:16 UTC. Dark Reading. Russia-linked hackers exploit Cisco firewall flaws to deploy Cyclops Blink. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Thu 17 Sep, 12:30 UTC. SecurityWeek. Cisco Patches Dozens of Flaws as ISE Zero Day Faces Exploitation. Cites a CVE in CISA KEV.
- Known exploited CVE
- No CVE
- Larger: an outlet’s first report
- Square: official source
- Coverage over time
- Quiet time, folded
Show all 14 articles as a listHide the list
- Wed 4 MarDay 01
- Cisco FMC CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20131 grant root access22:51 · Security Affairs · First report · Exploited CVE · Known exploited CVE · This article, 1st of 14
- Thu 5 MarDay 13
- Cisco patches 50 flaws after authentication bypass CVE-2026-2007908:56 · SecurityWeek · Known exploited CVE
- Cisco fixes 48 Secure Firewall flaws; CVE-2026-20079 auth bypass10:57 · Infosecurity · Known exploited CVE
- Cisco flags 48 firewall flaws; two CVEs enable FMC auth bypass20:43 · Dark Reading · Known exploited CVE
Quiet for 22 weeks
Thu 6 AugDay 1551- Cisco fixes critical flaws in Catalyst SDWAN and firewall gear07:51 · SecurityWeek · Picked up again · Known exploited CVE
Quiet for 5 weeks
Wed 9 SepDay 1891- Cisco Warns Attackers Are Exploiting Critical FMC Flaws for Root Access23:28 · SecurityOnline · Picked up again · Known exploited CVE
- Thu 10 SepDay 1904
- CISA Flags Actively Exploited Cisco Firewall Flaw Enabling Root Access01:32 · CISA · official · CISA alert · Known exploited CVE
- Cisco Firewall Flaw Exploited by Sandworm and Qilin Ransomware10:30 · SecurityWeek · Known exploited CVE
- CISA Flags Cisco, Citrix and Fortinet Flaws Under Active Attack11:36 · The Hacker News · Known exploited CVE
- CISA Flags Four Actively Exploited Flaws Including Cisco Zero Day19:46 · Security Affairs · Known exploited CVE
- Fri 11 SepDay 1912
- Cisco Firewall Flaws Exploited to Deploy Web Shells and Ransomware07:48 · The Hacker News · Known exploited CVE
- Cisco Firewall Flaws Exploited to Deploy Qilin Ransomware10:37 · Security Affairs · Known exploited CVE
Quiet for 3 days
Mon 14 SepDay 1941- Russia-linked hackers exploit Cisco firewall flaws to deploy Cyclops Blink22:16 · Dark Reading · Picked up again · Known exploited CVE
Quiet for 3 days
Thu 17 SepDay 1971- Cisco Patches Dozens of Flaws as ISE Zero Day Faces Exploitation12:30 · SecurityWeek · Picked up again · Known exploited CVE