CVE-2026-35616: Escalation of privilege in Fortinet FortiClientEMS
In May 2026, threat actors exploited CVE-2026-35616, an improper access control vulnerability in Fortinet EMS versions 7.4.5 through 7.4.6, to deploy EKZ Stealer within an energy sector organization. The malware was disguised as FortiEndpoint_Patch.exe and harvested browser credentials from Chromium-based browsers and Firefox before exfiltrating data via PowerShell to a command-and-control server. EKZ Stealer employs sophisticated compiler-based obfuscation techniques including indirect jumps, control-flow flattening, and XOR-based string encryption to evade analysis. The technical analysis demonstrates how Binary Ninja Workflows can be leveraged to defeat these obfuscation methods by matching repeatable Intermediate Language patterns and rewriting LLIL/MLIL expressions to restore readable control flow, significantly accelerating malware reverse engineering efforts.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 involves improper access control that permits unauthenticated attackers to execute unauthorized code or commands by sending crafted requests. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 9.1, indicating critical severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. An official fix has been released by Fortinet to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows unauthenticated attackers to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code or commands on affected FortiClientEMS systems, potentially leading to full compromise of the impacted system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available for this vulnerability. Users should apply the vendor-provided patch for FortiClientEMS versions 7.4.5 and 7.4.6 promptly to remediate the issue.
Indicators of Compromise
- cve: CVE-2026-35616
- hash: 0da123adf9251957a4b850a3f6bd6a753dd4892be176a84a18450e899534cc5e
- hash: 338662fd0c4d750a0ba203a32b59f081
- hash: 17e771c78430cc67e71d4547f8996a1a488e9d3f
- url: http://83.138.53.110/service/save.php
- cve: CVE-2026-16232
- cve: CVE-2026-18577
CVE-2026-35616: Escalation of privilege in Fortinet FortiClientEMS
Description
In May 2026, threat actors exploited CVE-2026-35616, an improper access control vulnerability in Fortinet EMS versions 7.4.5 through 7.4.6, to deploy EKZ Stealer within an energy sector organization. The malware was disguised as FortiEndpoint_Patch.exe and harvested browser credentials from Chromium-based browsers and Firefox before exfiltrating data via PowerShell to a command-and-control server. EKZ Stealer employs sophisticated compiler-based obfuscation techniques including indirect jumps, control-flow flattening, and XOR-based string encryption to evade analysis. The technical analysis demonstrates how Binary Ninja Workflows can be leveraged to defeat these obfuscation methods by matching repeatable Intermediate Language patterns and rewriting LLIL/MLIL expressions to restore readable control flow, significantly accelerating malware reverse engineering efforts.
CVSS v3.1
Score 9.1critical
Affected software
Fortinet
FortiClientEMS
cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:forticlientems:7.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:forticlientems:7.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 involves improper access control that permits unauthenticated attackers to execute unauthorized code or commands by sending crafted requests. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 9.1, indicating critical severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction required, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. An official fix has been released by Fortinet to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation allows unauthenticated attackers to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code or commands on affected FortiClientEMS systems, potentially leading to full compromise of the impacted system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available for this vulnerability. Users should apply the vendor-provided patch for FortiClientEMS versions 7.4.5 and 7.4.6 promptly to remediate the issue.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- fortinet
- Date Reserved
- 2026-04-03T23:49:34.986Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
Indicators of Compromise
Cve
| Value | Description | Copy |
|---|---|---|
cveCVE-2026-35616 | — | |
cveCVE-2026-16232 | — | |
cveCVE-2026-18577 | — |
Hash
| Value | Description | Copy |
|---|---|---|
hash0da123adf9251957a4b850a3f6bd6a753dd4892be176a84a18450e899534cc5e | — | |
hash338662fd0c4d750a0ba203a32b59f081 | — | |
hash17e771c78430cc67e71d4547f8996a1a488e9d3f | — |
Url
| Value | Description | Copy |
|---|---|---|
urlhttp://83.138.53.110/service/save.php | — |
Threat ID: 69d062ae0a160ebd92704c2b
Added to database: 04/04/2026, 01:00:30 UTC
Last enriched: 07/24/2026, 20:52:09 UTC
Last updated: 09/14/2026, 22:01:33 UTC
Views: 492
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