# CVE-2016-1909: Hardcoded credentials in n/a

> Hardcoded credentials for the Fortimanager_Access account allow remote attackers to gain administrative access via SSH on multiple Fortinet products.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Jan 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wpg3-7qph-4gvp

## What is CVE-2016-1909?

CVE-2016-1909 is a critical vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios, published on 15 Jan 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer before 5.0.12 and 5.2.x before 5.2.5; FortiSwitch 3.3.x before 3.3.3; FortiCache 3.0.x before 3.0.8; and FortiOS 4.1.x before 4.1.11, 4.2.x before 4.2.16, 4.3.x before 4.3.17 and 5.0.x before 5.0.8 have a hardcoded passphrase for the Fortimanager_Access account, which allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access via an SSH session.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1909?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fortinet Fortios.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1909?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-1909 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-1909 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-1909 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Fortinet FortiGate 4.x < 5.0.7 - SSH Backdoor Access (exploitdb)
- Fortinet SSH Backdoor Scanner (metasploit)

## Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet Fortios

- [CVE-2024-23113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-23113/): Fortinet Multiple Products Format String (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-40684](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-40684/): Fortinet Multiple Products Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-55591](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-55591/): Fortinet FortiOS and FortiProxy Authentication Bypass (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-21762](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21762/): Fortinet FortiOS Out-of-Bound Write (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-42475](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42475/): Fortinet FortiOS Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.3, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-1909 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1909 is a critical vulnerability in Fortinet Fortios, published on 15 Jan 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-1909 exists.

Affected product: Fortinet Fortios. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1909/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1909/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1909
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1909
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1909

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1909/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.