CVE-2026-21743 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2026-21743
Vulnerability Scoring

7.2
/10
Very High Risk

Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-21743 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: High
    High-level privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2026-21743 Details

Status: Analyzed

Last updated: 🕓 12 Feb 2026, 16:05 UTC
Originally published on: 🕓 10 Feb 2026, 16:16 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 1 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

psirt@fortinet.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVE-2026-21743 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2026-21743: A missing authorization vulnerability in Fortinet FortiAuthenticator 6.6.0 through 6.6.6, FortiAuthenticator 6.5 all versions, FortiAuthenticator 6.4 all versions, FortiAuthenticator 6.3 all versions may allow a read-only user to make modification to local users via a file upload to an unprotected endpoint.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2026-21743

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2026-21743 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2026-21743

The exploitability of CVE-2026-21743 is influenced by multiple factors. Security teams should analyze system configurations and apply appropriate countermeasures to mitigate threats.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-21743, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-21743, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: High
    Exploiting CVE-2026-21743 can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, severely compromising data privacy.
  • Integrity: High
    CVE-2026-21743 could allow unauthorized modifications to data, potentially affecting system reliability and trust.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2026-21743 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

CVE-2026-21743 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-862

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws CAPEC-665 An adversary leverages a firmware weakness within the Thunderbolt protocol, on a computing device to manipulate Thunderbolt controller firmware in order to exploit vulnerabilities in the implementation of authorization and verification schemes within Thunderbolt protection mechanisms. Upon gaining physical access to a target device, the adversary conducts high-level firmware manipulation of the victim Thunderbolt controller SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) flash, through the use of a SPI Programing device and an external Thunderbolt device, typically as the target device is booting up. If successful, this allows the adversary to modify memory, subvert authentication mechanisms, spoof identities and content, and extract data and memory from the target device. Currently 7 major vulnerabilities exist within Thunderbolt protocol with 9 attack vectors as noted in the Execution Flow.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.4.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:fortinet:fortiauthenticator:6.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2026-21743: Combat Critical CVE Threats

Stay updated with real-time CVE vulnerabilities and take action to secure your systems. Enhance your cybersecurity posture with the latest threat intelligence and mitigation techniques. Develop the skills necessary to defend against CVEs and secure critical infrastructures. Join the top cybersecurity professionals safeguarding today's infrastructures.

Other 5 Recently Published CVEs Vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2026-3523 – The Apocalypse Meow plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the 'type' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 22.1.0. This...
  • CVE-2026-3034 – The OoohBoi Steroids for Elementor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the _ob_spacerat_link, _ob_bbad_link, and ...
  • CVE-2026-2899 – The Fluent Forms Pro Add On Pack plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 6.1.17. This is ...
  • CVE-2026-2365 – The Fluent Forms Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the `fluentform_step_form_save_data` AJAX action in all ...
  • CVE-2026-29127 – The IDC SFX2100 Satellite Receiver sets overly permissive file system permissions on the monitor user's home directory. The directory is configured...