Ten thousand firewalls are vulnerable to old vulnerability

Csoonline • January 5, 2026

Bleeping Computer reports that hackers are exploiting an old vulnerability in FortiOS that can be used to get around the two-factor authentication (2FA) requirement.

The vulnerability, designated CVE-2020-12812, was patched back in July 2020, but five and a half years later, there are still at least 10,000 firewalls that have not been updated.

To be on the safe side, all users of FortiOS and Fortigate are therefore urged to install the latest updates as soon as possible.

This news brief originally appeared on ComputerSweden .

More Fortinet security news:

FortiGate firewall credentials being stolen after vulnerabilities discovered

Fortinet criticized for ‘silent’ patching after disclosing second zero-day vulnerability in same equipment

Fortinet admins urged to update software to close FortiCloud SSO holes

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This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

Over 10,000 Fortinet Firewalls Vulnerable to 2FA Bypass Exploits More than 10,000 Fortinet firewalls remain exposed to a critical two-factor authentication bypass vulnerability (CVE-2020-12812) that has been actively exploited. This flaw, first disclosed in July 2020, continues to pose risks as many devices have not been patched, with ongoing attacks reported recently. Administrators are urged to apply updates to mitigate potential exploitation. 6 sources 47

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Ten thousand firewalls are vulnerable to old vulnerability

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