Vulnerability report

Active exploitation observed Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2026-16232

Quantum Security Management Authentication Bypass

Check Point / Quantum Security Management · R82.10 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 36 or below

Watch CVE-2026-16232 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 9.3 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Observed in sensors
EPSS
78.0%
First observed
29 Jul 2026
Last observed
16 Oct 2026

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2026-16232 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Check Point Quantum Security Management, Multi-Domain Security Management. An authentication bypass vulnerability in the Check Point SmartConsole login...

Is it exploited?

Yes. Previdian sensors observed exploitation attempts with confirmed confidence. Listed in CISA KEV. Also confirmed by third-party sources.

Who is affected?

Check Point / Quantum Security Management r82.10 with jumbo hotfix take 36 or below.

What should we do?

Patch immediately, validate internet-facing exposure, and monitor for matching requests.

Overview

Quantum Security Management Authentication Bypass

An authentication bypass vulnerability in the Check Point SmartConsole login process allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to obtain an application login token and use it to authenticate with full administrative privileges. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to modify security policies and security configurations.

Remote exploitation requires internet access to the Management Server IP address and a configuration that does not restrict Trusted Clients. Check Point is aware that this vulnerability is being exploited and has affected a very small number of customers.

checkpoint Affected
Quantum Security Management
R82.10 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 36 or below R82 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 118 or below R81.20 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 158 or below R81.10, R81, R80.30, R80.20, R80.10, R80, and R77.30
checkpoint Affected
Multi-Domain Security Management
R82.10 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 36 or below R82 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 118 or below R81.20 with Jumbo Hotfix Take 158 or below R81.10, R81, R80.30, R80.20, R80.10, R80, and R77.30
Published
22 Jul 2026
Exploitation Reported
22 Jul 2026
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

cisa nuclei_scanner

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why Previdian marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

Check Point Blog

Recorded 22 Jul 2026

A trusted third party reported exploitation.

Active exploitation observed

Previdian sensor

First observed 29 Jul 2026

Previdian first observed exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability in our honeypot sensors.

Proof of concept available

Nuclei Templates

Recorded 29 Jul 2026

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
All CISA Advisories First 2026-07-22 12:00 UTC
Check Point Blog 2026-07-22 15:57 UTC
Daily CyberSecurity 2026-07-22 17:29 UTC
CISA 2026-07-22 19:00 UTC
CVE 2026-07-22 21:01 UTC
The Hacker News 2026-07-23 06:34 UTC
Rapid7 2026-07-23 11:57 UTC
Previdian Sensors 2026-07-29 08:50 UTC

Operational indicators for this CVE are listed under Detection.

Sensor telemetry

First-party evidence of exploitation activity

Previdian sensors recorded exploitation attempts targeting this vulnerability. The cards and chart show volume, unique attackers, and daily activity.

15

Attempts observed

11

Unique attacker IPs

5

Attacker countries

BG · NL · PH · SG · US

1

Sensors observed

CVE-2026-16232 exploitation attempts over the last 82 days

Daily events observed by Previdian sensors

Updated 17 Oct 2026

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28 Jul 14 Aug 31 Aug 17 Sep 17 Oct

First observed 29 Jul 2026 · Last observed 16 Oct 2026

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Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
User-Agents
Callback hosts
0
0
0

Request targets and User-Agents available in Pro. Callback host details available in Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Indicators of Compromise (IoCs)

Operational indicators linked to exploitation of this CVE. IoCs age over time, especially IP addresses.

Export
Type Indicator First Seen Last Seen Age Source
IP 151.241.99.207 2026-07-22 15:58 UTC 2026-07-22 17:59 UTC 3 months ago Source
IP 151.241.99.233 2026-07-22 15:58 UTC 2026-07-22 17:59 UTC 3 months ago Source
IP 158.62.198.182 2026-07-22 15:58 UTC 2026-07-22 17:59 UTC 3 months ago Source
IP 192.142.10.99 2026-07-22 15:58 UTC 2026-07-22 17:59 UTC 3 months ago Source
IP 139.28.37.250 2026-07-22 15:58 UTC 2026-07-22 17:59 UTC 3 months ago Source

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2026/CVE-2026-16232.yaml 29 Jul 2026

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v4.0

9.3 Critical

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

EPSS

78.0%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Authentication CWE-287

Recent mention · BleepingComputer

New Check Point flaw lets hackers execute code with root privileges

Check Point Software has released security updates to address a critical vulnerability that can let attackers execute code with root privileges on management systems. [...]

Read full advisory

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v4.0 9.3 Critical

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS v3.1 9.8 Critical

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

All Mentions

Recent mention · BleepingComputer

New Check Point flaw lets hackers execute code with root privileges

BleepingComputer · 18 Sep 2026

Check Point Software has released security updates to address a critical vulnerability that can let attackers execute code with root privileges on management systems. [...]

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Critical Check Point Management Flaw Lets Unauthenticated Attackers Run Code as Root

The Hacker News · 17 Sep 2026

A critical vulnerability in Check Point's Security Management and Log Servers could allow an attacker without login credentials to run code as root on those servers over the network. The Security Management Server is the system that controls firewall policy and administrator access. Check Point has released a fix through its LivePatch update channel and says it has no indication that the flaw

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Public PoC Released for Exploited Check Point SmartConsole Authentication Bypass

The Hacker News · 29 Jul 2026

Cybersecurity researchers have shared additional technical details about a recently patched critical security flaw impacting Check Point Security Management Server and Multi-Domain Security Management Server (MDS) that has come under active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-16232 (CVSS score: 9.3), is an authentication bypass in the SmartConsole login process that

Recent mention · Rapid7

Check Point SmartConsole Authentication Bypass Technical Analysis (CVE-2026-16232)

Rapid7 · 28 Jul 2026

OverviewOn July 22, 2026, Check Point published a security advisory for CVE-2026-16232, an authentication bypass in the SmartConsole login process affecting Security Management Server and Multi-Domain Security Management Server (MDS). By leveraging CVE-2026-16232, an unauthenticated attacker can obtain an application login token, use this token to log in through SmartConsole with full administrator privileges, and modify the security policy or security configuration. Exploitation requires network access to the Management Server and for a Trusted Clients configuration that does not restrict...

Recent mention · Rapid7

CVE-2026-16232: Critical Check Point SmartConsole Authentication Bypass Exploited in the Wild

Rapid7 · 23 Jul 2026

OverviewOn July 22, 2026, Check Point published a security advisory for multiple vulnerabilities affecting Security Management, Multi-Domain Management, and firewall products. The most urgent of these is CVE-2026-16232, an authentication bypass in the SmartConsole login process classified as improper authentication (CWE-287). CVE-2026-16232 has been assigned a critical CVSS score of 9.1. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to obtain an application login token and authenticate to the management server with full administrative privileges, enabling modification of...

Recent mention · The Hacker News

Check Point Patches Exploited SmartConsole Flaw Allowing Full Admin Access

The Hacker News · 23 Jul 2026

Check Point has released security updates to address multiple vulnerabilities impacting Security Management and Multi-Domain Management (MDSM) products, including a critical flaw that has come under active exploitation in the wild. The security flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-16232 (CVSS score: 9.3), is an authentication bypass affecting the Check Point SmartConsole login process that allows an

Recent mention · Daily CyberSecurity

Check Point SmartConsole Auth Bypass CVE-2026-16232 Exploited in the Wild

Daily CyberSecurity · 22 Jul 2026

TL;DR Check Point disclosed a SmartConsole authentication bypass on July 22, 2026. The flaw, CVE-2026-16232, is already exploited The post Check Point SmartConsole Auth Bypass CVE-2026-16232 Exploited in the Wild appeared first on Daily CyberSecurity.

Recent mention · All CISA Advisories

CISA Adds Two Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog

All CISA Advisories · 22 Jul 2026

CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.   CVE-2026-16232 Check Point SmartConsole Improper Authentication Vulnerability CVE-2026-50522 Microsoft SharePoint Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise. Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04: Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk establishes vulnerability management requirements for Federal...

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

HackSpeak/CVE-2026-16232

github · Created 2026-08-03 12:55:37 UTC · 2 stars · AI assessment 90%

CVE-2026-16232 (Check Point SmartConsole authentication bypass) PoC - unauth to admin; for authorized security testing

Check Point Security Management Server - SmartConsole Authentication Bypass

nuclei · Created Unknown

Check Point Security Management Server - SmartConsole Authentication Bypass

nuclei · Created Unknown

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. 08:46 UTC

    Observed by Previdian sensors

    Evidence-backed exploitation signal

  2. 04:30 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  3. 04:30 UTC

    Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  4. 11:57 UTC

    KEV confirmed by Rapid7

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  5. 06:34 UTC

    KEV confirmed by The Hacker News

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  6. 21:01 UTC

    KEV confirmed by CVE

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  7. 19:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  8. 17:29 UTC

    KEV confirmed by Daily CyberSecurity

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  9. 15:58 UTC

    Indicators of compromise added (18)

    Indicators of compromise recorded

  10. 15:57 UTC

    KEV confirmed by Check Point Blog

    Exploitation attested by an external source

  11. 13:53 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  12. 12:00 UTC

    Added to Previdian KEV Feed

    High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation

  13. 12:14 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

Start 14-day Pro trial Read API docs
  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2026-16232

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2026-16232",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 9.3,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.77972,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": true
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 15, "sensors": 1 }
}