High

Hardcoded MySQL Root Password in Cisco Firepower Management Center 6.0.1

IdentifiersCVE-2016-6434CWE-798

CVE-2016-6434 is a vulnerability in Cisco Firepower Management Center 6.0.1 where the MySQL root account is protected by a hardcoded, weak password ('admin'). This static credential is present in the virtual appliance and can be obtained by any local user with CLI access, allowing them to authenticate to the MySQL database with root privileges. The MySQL service is not externally exposed, but the presence of a hardcoded password represents a significant security misconfiguration.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

An attacker with local CLI access can use the hardcoded MySQL root password to gain full access to the database, potentially extracting sensitive configuration data, credentials, or manipulating the database contents. While the MySQL service is not externally accessible, this vulnerability facilitates post-compromise lateral movement and privilege escalation for attackers who have already obtained local access.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Restrict local CLI access to trusted administrators only. Monitor for unauthorized access attempts and consider changing the MySQL root password if possible until the appliance can be upgraded. Network segmentation and access controls can further reduce the risk of exploitation.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade to a patched version of Cisco Firepower Management Center where the hardcoded MySQL root password has been removed and proper credential management is enforced. Cisco has released advisories and patches addressing this issue. Administrators should ensure all appliances are updated to the latest secure version.

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 1 candidate as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.

VALID 0 / 1 TOTALView more in app

All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

Cisco SystemsSecure Firewall Management Centerapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

No public activity tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

0 SOURCESView more in app

No public activity observed for this vulnerability.

What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity