Vulnerability Snapshot
CVE-2016-4573 is rated CRITICAL โ exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.
Affected technology: fortiswitch, fsw-1024d, fsw-1048d, fsw-108d-poe, fsw-124d, plus 5 other product variants.
Executive Summary
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.
Why It Matters
CVE-2016-4573 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.
CVSS Base Score: 9.8/10
Affected Technologies
Vendors: fortinet
Products: fortiswitch, fsw-1024d, fsw-1048d, fsw-108d-poe, fsw-124d, fsw-124d-poe, fsw-224d-fpoe, fsw-224d-poe, fsw-248d-fpoe, fsw-248d-poe, fsw-3032d, fsw-424d, fsw-424d-fpoe, fsw-424d-poe, fsw-448d, fsw-448d-fpoe, fsw-448d-poe, fsw-524d, fsw-524d-fpoe, fsw-548d, fsw-548d-fpoe, fsw-r-112d-poe
๐ก๏ธWhat Defenders Should Check
Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2016-4573 and similar vulnerabilities.
References & Sources
How Vulnios Detects This
Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for SBOM-based CVE matching and Vulnios CVE feed continuous monitoring against your asset inventory. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.
AI Security Advisor
Powered by Gemini
Get AI-powered security recommendations tailored to this specific threat โ including risk assessment, detection guidance, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and actionable remediation steps.
Affected Products
Sources
Related Threat Alerts
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2016-7560 โ fortinet โ fortiwlc
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2016-6909 โ fortinet โ fortios, fortiswitch
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2016-1909 โ fortinet โ fortios
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2017-14189 โ fortinet โ fortiweb_manager
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2015-3616 โ fortinet โ fortimanager_firmware, fortimanager_2000e
- Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2017-7336 โ fortinet โ fortiwlm
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2016-4573?
CVE-2016-4573 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. 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-5
Am I affected?
Check whether your environment runs fortiswitch, fsw-1024d, fsw-1048d, fsw-108d-poe, fsw-124d. If you operate any of those, treat yourself as in scope until you have evidence otherwise. A Vulnios scan will identify the exact assets carrying the affected version.
How urgent is the response?
Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.
How do I remediate?
Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.
Where can I track exploitation activity?
Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2016-4573. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.
How does Vulnios help with this?
Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.
Protect Your Organization
Monitor CVEs, scan for vulnerabilities, and get real-time threat alerts โ all in one platform.
Get instant alerts on Telegram
Join our public channel for real-time critical CVE alerts.
Follow @vulnios