CVE-2019-6693
Fortinet FortiOS / FortiProxy (FortiGate) · Firewalls, VPNs and remote access
Fortinet FortiOS Use of Hard-Coded Credentials Vulnerability
At a glance
Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on June 25, 2025.
Used in ransomware attacks, according to CISA.
Affected product: Fortinet FortiOS / FortiProxy (FortiGate) (category Firewalls, VPNs and remote access, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Fortinet FortiOS.
What should I do?
Apply the patches or mitigations from Fortinet; if none are available, stop using the product. For cloud services, follow the guidance from Fortinet.
Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 21 days (due July 16, 2025). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.
- Fortinet security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
- The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2019-6693 on the NVD website.
Original text of the 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.
Timeline
- Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
- Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
- CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies
The facts, with their sources
- Exploitation confirmed
- Yes, on June 25, 2025 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- Ransomware
- Known use Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- Hunt for compromise
- Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- CISA required action
- Apply the patches or mitigations from Fortinet; if none are available, stop using the product. For cloud services, follow the guidance from Fortinet. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- CISA deadline
- July 16, 2025, 21 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- Vulnerability published
- November 21, 2019 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
- Product according to CISA
- Fortinet FortiOS Filed by this site under “Firewalls, VPNs and remote access” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Severity and activity
FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.
Description
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).
Official description from the NVD, collected Sep 29, 2026. CVE® description © The MITRE Corporation.
Fortinet FortiOS contains a use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability that could allow an attacker to cipher sensitive data in FortiOS configuration backup file via knowledge of the hard-coded key.
Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).
CERT-FR advisories
No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.
Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.
Sources for this page
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
- NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
- EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
- CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
- Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).