Critical-Severity Flaw in Fortra BoKS Manager boks-server Tracked as CVE-2026-79901
A newly published critical vulnerability in Fortra BoKS Manager boks-server carries a CVSS score of 9.9. Here is what is affected and how to respond.
Key points
- CVE-2026-79901 affects Fortra BoKS Manager boks-server.
- CVSS 9.9 (Critical).
- No exploitation confirmed yet.
Fortra BoKS Manager boks-server is affected by CVE-2026-79901, a security flaw that the National Vulnerability Database rates 9.9 out of 10.
At a glance
- CVE
- CVE-2026-79901
- Product
- Fortra BoKS Manager boks-server
- CVSS
- 9.9 Critical
- Weakness
- CWE-338
- Exploited
- No known exploitation
What is the vulnerability?
The NVD entry states: In deployments using BoKS keytab management, affected versions of boks_keytabmd generate Active Directory service-account passwords from a predictable pseudo-random sequence seeded with the current Unix timestamp. An attacker who knows the service principal and can estimate the password-change time can reproduce a limited candidate set and verify candidates offline.
Affected versions
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Fortra | BoKS Manager boks-server | before 9.0.0.6 |
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is it being exploited?
There is no public confirmation of exploitation at the time of publication. It does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. We will update this report if that changes.
What should you do?
- Identify whether the affected product and versions run in your environment.
- Apply the vendor update listed in the advisory as soon as it is available.
- Limit network exposure of the affected service until it is patched.
- Monitor the vendor advisory for updated guidance or exploitation reports.
What to do and how to stay safe: CVE-2026-79901
- Patch scores alone ignore context like network exposure and asset criticality.
- You must map vulnerabilities to specific business risks to prioritize correctly.
- Continuous exposure data replaces static scanning for accurate prioritization.
Prioritize vulnerabilities by actual exploitability and business impact, not by theoretical severity scores. Update your asset context and exposure data continuously to maintain accurate risk rankings.
Step-by-step guide: Risk Based Vulnerability Management: Prioritize Fixes by Actual Threat
General security guidance from the Threat Times newsroom. It is not confirmed advice from the organisations named in this story.
Frequently asked questions
What is CVE-2026-79901?
CVE-2026-79901 is a CWE-338 vulnerability in Fortra BoKS Manager boks-server.
How severe is CVE-2026-79901?
It has a CVSS score of 9.9 Critical.
Is CVE-2026-79901 being exploited?
There is no public confirmation of exploitation at the time of publication.
