# CVE-2019-16149: Cross-site scripting in FortiClientEMS

> Remote attackers can execute unauthorized code by injecting malicious payloads into user profiles managed by FortiClient EMS.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L/E:F/RL:X/RC:X`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Mar 2025
- **Updated:** 28 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j8c2-6298-q92j

## What is CVE-2019-16149?

CVE-2019-16149 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS, published on 28 Mar 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation in FortiClientEMS version 6.2.0 may allow a remote attacker to execute unauthorized code by injecting malicious payload in the user profile of a FortiClient instance being managed by the vulnerable system.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-16149?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Fortinet Forticlientems.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-16149?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-16149 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-16149 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16149 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fortinet FortiClientEMS

- [CVE-2026-35616](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-35616/): Fortinet FortiClient EMS Improper Access Control (critical 9.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-21643](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21643/): Fortinet FortiClient EMS SQL Injection (critical 9.1, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-23106](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-23106/): Auth bypass in FortiClientEMS (high 7.7)
- [CVE-2025-59922](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-59922/): SQL injection in FortiClientEMS (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2026-59836](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-59836/): Security feature bypass in FortiClientEMS (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-16149 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-16149 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS, published on 28 Mar 2025. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-16149 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Fortinet FortiClientEMS. 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-2019-16149/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16149/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-16149
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16149
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-16149

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16149/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.