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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 16 Jul 2025. Known ransomware use
FortiosOperating system · Fortinet

CVE-2019-6693

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-11-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.0.6 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

FortiOS uses a hard-coded cryptographic key to encrypt sensitive data within configuration backup files. This includes user passwords (except admin), private key passphrases, and HA passwords. Anyone with access to the backup file can decrypt this data using the known hard-coded key, making the encryption essentially equivalent to no encryption.

MitigationRestrict access to backup files to prevent unauthorized acquisition. Rotate any credentials that may have been exposed in backups. Apply vendor patches when released to replace hard-coded keys with proper key management.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FortiosOperating system
Affected:<= 5.6.10>= 6.0.0, <= 6.0.6= 6.2.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify FortiOS version
    Run 'get system status' or 'show system version' from CLI, or check in GUI under Dashboard > Status
    Affected if The version shown is <= 5.6.10, between 6.0.0 and 6.0.6 inclusive, or exactly 6.2.0
  2. Locate backup files
    Check common backup storage locations: /var/backup, /config/backup, or use 'execute backup config' to see where local backups are stored. Review network storage mounts if backups are sent to external servers.
    Affected if Any backup files exist from the affected FortiOS version (check file timestamps relative to version upgrade dates)
  3. Review backup file access controls
    Examine file permissions on stored backups (ls -la), check share permissions if on network storage, and review admin access logs for backup download events.
    Affected if Backup files are accessible to unauthorized users or stored in locations with weak access controls
  4. Check for evidence of backup exposure
    Search logs for events indicating backup file downloads or exports (log IDs 32001-32003), review admin session logs for unusual backup access patterns.
    Affected if Logs show backup files were downloaded, copied, or accessed by unexpected users or from unexpected locations

You are affected if your FortiOS version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND backup files from that version exist or existed anywhere outside strictly controlled access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.0.6
Interim mitigation

Restrict access to backup files to prevent unauthorized acquisition. Rotate any credentials that may have been exposed in backups. Apply vendor patches when released to replace hard-coded keys with proper key management.

Recommended fix High confidence

FortiOS 5.6.11 or later (5.6.x branch); FortiOS 6.0.7 or later (6.0.x branch); FortiOS 6.2.1 or later (6.2.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current FortiOS version by running 'get system status' on the FortiGate CLI.
  2. 2. Based on the current version, plan upgrade path: for 5.6.x branch upgrade to 5.6.11 or later; for 6.0.x branch upgrade to 6.0.7 or later; for 6.2.0 upgrade to 6.2.1 or later.
  3. 3. Before upgrading, backup the current configuration using 'execute backup config flash' or 'execute backup config tftp/ftp <filename'>'.
  4. 4. Download the appropriate firmware from Fortinet Customer Service & Support portal (https://support.fortinet.com/).
  5. 5. Upload the new firmware image to FortiGate via GUI (System > Firmware) or CLI ('execute upload image').
  6. 6. Initiate the firmware upgrade via GUI or CLI ('execute system reboot').
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version with 'get system status' and confirm all configurations are intact.
  8. 8. Immediately change all user passwords, private key passphrases, and HA passwords that were stored in the affected backup files since they may have been exposed.
Caveat Standard FortiOS upgrade considerations apply: review release notes for configuration syntax changes and deprecated features; test in non-production environment first; some configurations may require adjustment after upgrade

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Fortios Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-6693 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data