CVE-2019-6693: Fortinet FortiOS (Medium, CVSS 6.5)
- CVSS
- 6.5 Medium (v3.1)
- EPSS
- 6.6% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (higher than 93.8% of CVEs)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, on CISA’s KEV list since Jun 25, 2025; used by ransomware
- Public exploit
- Yes, reported in 4 GitHub repositories
- Weakness
- CWE-798
- Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N- Published
- Nov 21, 2019
- CISA fix-by date
- Jul 16, 2025 (for US federal agencies)
What it is
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).
Description from the National Vulnerability Database.
What to do
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.
Check whether you run Fortinet FortiOS, then apply the vendor’s fix or mitigation from the advisories below. Because this flaw is exploited or has public exploit code, treat it as urgent and check for signs of compromise, not just the patch level.
Advisories and fixes
ThreatRoundup coverage
k0t Walks In Through Fortinet and GlobalProtect, Leaves With 70,000 Logins
Sources: NVD, FIRST EPSS, CISA KEV, and public exploit databases (availability only). ThreatRoundup reports whether public exploit code exists but never links to it: fake proof-of-concepts that infect security researchers are common. This page updates automatically.