# Cisco Firewall Manager Hardcoded Password Flaw Exploited

Published: 2026-07-29 · Severity: high · Sectors: government-national
Canonical: https://vorant.io/reports/4d6b09e3-9e2c-52b3-a01c-5d242569ffbf/cisco-firewall-manager-hardcoded-password-flaw-exploited

> CISA added CVE-2026-20316, a hardcoded password flaw in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

CISA has added CVE-2026-20316, affecting Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog based on confirmed evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability stems from use of a hard-coded password, a class of flaw that frequently enables attackers to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized access to affected systems.

Under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies are required to remediate this vulnerability on a prioritized timeline, particularly where it exists on publicly exposed assets that could grant an attacker full control post-exploitation. The directive also requires agencies to assess whether systems were compromised prior to patching. While BOD 26-04 formally applies only to FCEB agencies, CISA recommends all organizations running Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center review exposure and apply vendor remediation promptly given the confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.

## Mentioned in this report

- Vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-20316

Source reporting: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/07/29/cisa-adds-one-known-exploited-vulnerability-catalog

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