CVEs / CVE-2019-6693
CVE-2019-6693: Fortinet FortiOS Use of Hard-Coded Credentials Vulnerability
- Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 25 Jun 2025
- medium 6.5 CVSS 3.1 (NVD)
- EPSS 6.64% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 93% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
- Last changed at its sources
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Summary
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.
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).
Affected and fixed versions
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiGate | 5.6.9 and below | — |
| Fortinet FortiGate | 6.0.5 and below | — |
| Fortinet FortiGate | 6.2.0 | — |
Exploitation
| In CISA KEV since | 25 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|
| Due date for US federal agencies | 16 Jul 2025 |
| Used in ransomware campaigns | Known |
| Required action | Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. |
Severity
| CVSS 3.1 | 6.5 mediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NScored by NVD |
|---|---|
| Weakness | CWE-798 |
References
- CVE-2019-6693 on NVD
- CVE-2019-6693 in the CISA KEV catalog
- https://fortiguard.com/advisory/FG-IR-19-007 (cited by CISA)
- https://fortiguard.com/advisory/FG-IR-19-007 Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-6693 US Government Resource
Sources
Exploitation status from the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EPSS scores from FIRST. Descriptions, severity and references from the National Vulnerability Database. Open-source package versions from OSV (CC-BY 4.0). Text is shown as each source states it; Stackurity does not edit it. Check the vendor's advisory before acting.
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.