VULNpocalypse

CVE-2026-35616: Fortinet FortiClient EMS Improper Access Control Vulnerability

Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.

Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-01 19:19 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.

What it is

A improper access control vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 may allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via crafted requests.

Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by fortinet, published 2026-04-04).

Weakness: Escalation of privilege

How it can be exploited

Exploitable over the network with low attack complexity needing no privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C

CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: yes. Technical impact: total.

On CISA KEV since
2026-04-06
US federal deadline
2026-04-09
Ransomware use
Not known

Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)

Also known as: BDU:2026-04638, EUVD-2026-18963, GHSA-gvcr-mc93-7p8p

VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:FOXTANFAIRY

Exploit Observer links 17 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.

Exploit code and modules (17)

Code that names this CVE. A repository can be a working exploit, a scanner, a fake or malware; read it before running anything.

Research and write-ups (3)

Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (4)

Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.

13 more references returned by Exploit Observer did not name this CVE or an alias, so they are left out.

VEDAS data as of 2026-11-01T17:12 UTC; fetched 2026-11-02.

Live scores

EPSS
0.940
very likely to be attacked soon
VEDAS
0.984
strong exploit evidence
On CISA KEV
Yes, since 2026-04-06
Detection rule
Nuclei · Suricata
EPSS (chance of attack)
100.1CVE-2026-35616 EPSS over time2026-082026-11-01
VEDAS (exploit evidence)
100.9CVE-2026-35616 VEDAS over time2026-082026-11-01

Thin horizontal line: the “likely” (EPSS 0.10) or “strong” (VEDAS 0.90) threshold. Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish.

Who is affected

ProductAffectedNot affected
Fortinet FortiClientEMSfrom 7.4.5 up to and including 7.4.6Not stated

Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.

Exploit Observer also maps it to: fortinet forticlientems, fortinet_inc. forticlientems.

How to fix it

CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor guidance:

How to detect it

Nuclei template (active check)

Fortinet FortiClientEMS - Authentication Bypass

A improper access control vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 may allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via crafted requests.

Name and description quoted from the template, written by VEDAS.

The template sends 2 requests (POST /api/v1/fabric_device_auth/fortigate/init, POST /api/v1/fabric_device_auth/fortigate/init); it decides using dsl matchers. Severity in the template: high. Marked as not yet verified against a live vulnerable target.

Run it against a host you own or are authorised to test:

bash
nuclei -u https://your-host -t CVE-2026-35616.yaml
Show the template (42 lines)
yaml
id: CVE-2026-35616

info:
  name: "Fortinet FortiClientEMS - Authentication Bypass"
  author: vedas-arpsyndicate
  severity: high
  description: |
    A improper access control vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 may allow an
    unauthenticated attacker to execute unauthorized code or commands via crafted requests.
  reference:
    - https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2026-35616&match=exact
    - https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=fortinet&match=exact
  classification:
    cve-id: CVE-2026-35616
    cwe-id: CWE-284
  metadata:
    verified: false
  tags: cve,cve2026,fortinet,forticlient,ems,auth-bypass,kev,vkev
http:
  - raw:
      - |
        POST /api/v1/fabric_device_auth/fortigate/init HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Content-Length: 0

        f

      - |
        POST /api/v1/fabric_device_auth/fortigate/init HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Content-Length: 0
        X-SSL-CLIENT-VERIFY: SUCCESS

        f

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - "contains(tolower(body_1), 'certificate not found')"
          - "status_code_1 == 401 && status_code_2 == 500"
          - "(body_1 != body_2)"
        condition: and

CVE-2026-35616.yaml on GitHub

Suricata rules (network detection)

1 rule that alert on traffic matching this exploit: VEDAS CVE-2026-35616 Fortinet FortiClientEMS - Authentication Bypass. Add them to your Suricata rule set and reload.

Show the rules
suricata
alert http $EXTERNAL_NET any -> $HTTP_SERVERS $HTTP_PORTS (msg:"VEDAS CVE-2026-35616 Fortinet FortiClientEMS - Authentication Bypass"; flow:established,to_server; http.uri; content:"/api/v1/fabric_device_auth/fortigate/init"; nocase; fast_pattern; classtype:web-application-attack; reference:cve,CVE-2026-35616; reference:url,https://www.exploit.observer/?keyword=CVE-2026-35616&match=exact; reference:url,https://subdomain.center/?engine=ammonites&keyword=fortinet&match=exact; sid:1010254; rev:1;)

CVE-2026-35616.rules on GitHub

References

Government sources

Other references

Other databases

Where this comes from

This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer, vedas-signatures. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.