CVE-2016-4573

CRITICAL

Fortinet FortiSwitch FSW-108D-POE, FSW-124D, FSW-124D-POE, FSW-224D-POE, FSW-224D-FPOE, FSW-248D-POE, FSW-248D-FPOE, FSW-424D, FSW-424D-POE, FSW-424D-FPOE, FSW-448D, FSW-448D-POE, FSW-448D-FPOE, FS...

Affects 22 products across 1 vendor.

BCS7.72
CVSS 3.09.8
EPSS4.6%
Percentile91th
PatchPatched
CVSS Vector — Plain English Remotely exploitable over the network, low complexity, no authentication required, no user interaction needed, impact contained to the vulnerable component, full confidentiality impact, full integrity impact, full availability impact.
CWE Weakness Definitions
CWE-264: Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

Broad class covering failures in permission enforcement. Deprecated in favor of CWE-284, CWE-862, CWE-863.

◆ SAGE Intelligence — CITED Relevance Research Team

This vulnerability was disclosed in 2016. A critical vulnerability affects Fortinet systems (CVE-2016-4573). No public exploit code is currently available. Isolate affected systems if patching is not feasible.

BSID: BS-2016-GLOBAL-254649-C • Model: rule-based-v1 • Confidence: MEDIUM

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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2016-4573?
This vulnerability was disclosed in 2016. A critical vulnerability affects Fortinet systems (CVE-2016-4573). No public exploit code is currently available. Isolate affected systems if patching is not feasible.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-4573?
CVE-2016-4573 has CVSS 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS: 4.6%.
Is CVE-2016-4573 actively exploited?
No confirmed active exploitation of CVE-2016-4573 as of 2026-05-30.
How do I remediate CVE-2016-4573?
Priority: MEDIUM. Advisory: http://fortiguard.com/advisory/fortiswitch-rest-admin-account-exposed-under-specific-conditions PSIRT: [email protected]
What systems are affected by CVE-2016-4573?
CVE-2016-4573 affects: Fortinet, Fortinet, Fortinet, Fortinet, Fortinet, Fortinet, Fortinet, Fortinet.
Vulnerability Details
CVE IDCVE-2016-4573
BSIDBS-2016-GLOBAL-254649-C BreachSpider Global ID
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published2016-09-09
Last Modified2026-05-06
ICS Relevance75%
Weakness (CWE)
Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls
Domains
NETWORK-INFRA
SourceNVD
Official Description

Fortinet FortiSwitch FSW-108D-POE, FSW-124D, FSW-124D-POE, FSW-224D-POE, FSW-224D-FPOE, FSW-248D-POE, FSW-248D-FPOE, FSW-424D, FSW-424D-POE, FSW-424D-FPOE, FSW-448D, FSW-448D-POE, FSW-448D-FPOE, FSW-524D, FSW-524D-FPOE, FSW-548D, FSW-548D-FPOE, FSW-1024D, FSW-1048D, FSW-3032D, and FSW-R-112D-POE models, when in FortiLink managed mode and upgraded to 3.4.1, might allow remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain administrative access via an empty password for the rest_admin account.

Source: NIST NVD / MITRE CVE Database

Attack Vector Analysis — CITED Relevance

Vulnerability details: Fortinet FortiSwitch FSW-108D-POE, FSW-124D, FSW-124D-POE, FSW-224D-POE, FSW-224D-FPOE, FSW-248D-POE, FSW-248D-FPOE, FSW-424D, FSW-424D-POE, FSW-424D-FPOE, FSW-448D, FSW-448D-POE, FSW-448D-FPOE, FSW-524D, FSW-524D-FPOE, FSW-548D, FSW-548D-FPOE, FSW-1024D, FSW-1048D, FSW-3032D, and FSW-R-112D-POE models, when in FortiLink managed mode and upgraded to 3.4.1, might allow remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain administrative access via an empty password for the rest_admin account. CVSS vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Exploitation Likelihood: LOW

Affected Products
VendorProductFixed Version
Fortinet Fortiswitch —
Fortinet Fsw-1024D —
Fortinet Fsw-1048D —
Fortinet Fsw-108D-Poe —
Fortinet Fsw-124D —
Fortinet Fsw-124D-Poe —
Fortinet Fsw-224D-Fpoe —
Fortinet Fsw-224D-Poe —
Fortinet Fsw-248D-Fpoe —
Fortinet Fsw-248D-Poe —
Fortinet Fsw-3032D —
Fortinet Fsw-424D —
Fortinet Fsw-424D-Fpoe —
Fortinet Fsw-424D-Poe —
Fortinet Fsw-448D —
Fortinet Fsw-448D-Fpoe —
Fortinet Fsw-448D-Poe —
Fortinet Fsw-524D —
Fortinet Fsw-524D-Fpoe —
Fortinet Fsw-548D —
Fortinet Fsw-548D-Fpoe —
Fortinet Fsw-R-112D-Poe —
Remediation
View Vendor Advisory →

Remediation Priority: MEDIUM

Vendor PSIRT: [email protected]
Threat Intelligence
● Threat Intelligence Validated: July 2026 | Threat Age: 3606 Days
CISA KEVNot in KEV catalog
Public ExploitNot confirmed
PoC CodeNot confirmed
SAGE Enrichment Record — provenance & audit hash
Modelrule-based-v1
ConfidenceMEDIUM
Enriched At2026-05-24
SHA-512 Audit Hash3e6650938bdc51d12ee2e11337f6c6e052bd2360a283b9063808c0036f624d65a46b8918a2133e463a7b4d9783e197812b80cee37553b0650e413bf310dd7c67
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