CVE-2026-126181Fortinet FortiManager hard-coded credentials
CVE-2026-126181 is a hard-coded credentials in Fortinet FortiManager, rated high (8.0 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: High severity, with no exploitation signal yet.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Received
What it is
Credentials are built into the product, so anyone who knows them can sign in to every install.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it from the same local network segment, with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything. Success also depends on conditions the attacker does not fully control.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker sign in with credentials the vendor shipped or stored unprotected. The damage can spread past the vulnerable component into others.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public report of exploitation yet.
What to do
- No fixed version is listed yet. Find every place Fortinet FortiManager runs, watch the references for a fix, and plan a replacement if it is no longer supported.
- Segment the networks that can reach it.
Description from NVD
A use of hard-coded credentials vulnerability in Fortinet FortiManager 8.0.0 through 8.0.1, FortiManager 7.6.0 through 7.6.7, FortiManager 7.4.0 through 7.4.11, FortiManager 7.2 all versions may allow an adjacent-network authenticated attacker with user permission to join the FGFM configuration-sync mesh of the affected FortiGate deployment via the default pre-shared key.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Network edge devices: VPNs, firewalls, routers and gateways. They sit between the internet and internal networks, so a flaw in one is often the first step into everything behind it.
- Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
- Credentials kept in code, configuration, images or firmware. The flaw sits between a stored secret and anyone who can read where it is kept.
Trust boundaries in play
- Local network segment. The attacker must share a network segment with the target.
- Isolation between components. The impact crosses out of the vulnerable component into others it should be isolated from.
- Between a stored secret and anyone who can read where it is kept. An attacker who crosses it can sign in with credentials the vendor shipped or stored unprotected.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does Fortinet FortiManager run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which network segments can reach them?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.