All Threat Alerts
criticalCVE Alert
CVE-2016-4573

Critical Vulnerability: CVE-2016-4573 โ€” fortinet โ€” fortiswitch, fsw-1024d

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.

Thursday, May 14, 2026fortinetVulnios Threat Intelligence
Share:

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

๐Ÿ›ก๏ธWhat Defenders Should Check

  • Check if you are affected โ€” Review your asset inventory for products listed in CVE-2016-4573.
  • Apply available patches โ€” Visit vendor advisories for the latest security updates.
  • Monitor for exploitation โ€” Check your SIEM/IDS logs for related indicators.
  • 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

    fortiswitchfsw-1024dfsw-1048dfsw-108d-poefsw-124dfsw-124d-poefsw-224d-fpoefsw-224d-poefsw-248d-fpoefsw-248d-poe

    Sources

    Related Threat Alerts

    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.

    critical

    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