Check Point SmartEvent

product · product:check-point-smartevent

Coverage

first 2026-09-23 → last 2026-10-20

Latest activity

2026-10-04

Check Point patches a management-server zero-day it says has already been used in a handful of pinpointed…

Peak priority

critical

1 critical

Targets

public-sector

sectors: public-sector

Sources cited

6 hosts

Action items (4)

Do-now tasks recorded on the entries about Check Point SmartEvent, newest first. Check the date before acting on an older one.

Immediate action: Check Point confirms this pre-authentication path-traversal flaw was exploited as a zero-day against a handful of customers, with attacks observed on 2026-07-23. Apply the R82.20 Security Hotfix or the appropriate Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator (R82.20 Take 10+, R82.10 Take 45+, R82 Take 127+, R81.20 Take 170+, R81.10 Take 192+) immediately; the September LivePatch does not cover this issue. Until patched, restrict TCP/19009 on every affected server to trusted administrative IP ranges via Trusted Clients / implied rules, and check the file-integrity paths in the 2026-10-04 update below alongside Check Point's revised log indicators.
2026-09-23CVE-2026-93616
Apply the R82.20 Security Hotfix or the appropriate Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator to every Check Point Security Management / Multi-Domain Security Management / Log / Multi-Domain Log / SmartEvent server now; no LivePatch exists for this issue.
2026-09-23CVE-2026-93616
Until patched, restrict TCP/19009 to trusted administrative IP ranges via Trusted Clients / implied rules on every affected server.
2026-09-23CVE-2026-93616
On every affected server that was reachable on TCP/19009 while unpatched, check /etc/cron.d, authorized_keys, the startup paths and anything new under $FWDIR/conf/SMC_Files for unexpected changes, alongside Check Point's revised log indicators in sk1000171.
2026-09-23CVE-2026-93616

Defender insights

What each entry about Check Point SmartEvent tells a defender to do, newest first.

2026-09-23CRITICALexploitedCheck Point patches a management-server zero-day it says has already been used in a handful of pinpointed attacks

Triage

Story timeline

2026-09-23CVE-2026-93616, Check Point Security Management: pre-authentication path traversal to arbitrary script execution, exploited as a zero-day, with attacks observed on 2026-07-23 (CVSS 9.8)
trending-vulnerabilitiesCheck Point patches a management-server zero-day it says has already been used in a handful of pinpointed attacks

Hunting pivots

CVEs (exploited first)

CVE-2026-93616

Releases covered

Check Point SmartEvent

Initial Access TA0001

T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application×1

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a software bug, a temporary glitch, or a misconfiguration.

Evidence: 2026-09-23/cve-2026-93616-check-point-security-mgmt-path-traversal · ATT&CK page ↗

Execution TA0002

T1053.003Scheduled Task/Job: Cron×1

Adversaries may abuse the <code>cron</code> utility to perform task scheduling for initial or recurring execution of malicious code. The <code>cron</code> utility is a time-based job scheduler for Unix-like operating systems. The <code> crontab</code> file contains the schedule of cron entries to be run and the specified times for execution. Any <code>crontab</code> files are stored in operating system-specific file paths.

Evidence: 2026-09-23/cve-2026-93616-check-point-security-mgmt-path-traversal · ATT&CK page ↗

Persistence TA0003

T1053.003Scheduled Task/Job: Cron×1

Evidence: 2026-09-23/cve-2026-93616-check-point-security-mgmt-path-traversal · ATT&CK page ↗

Privilege Escalation TA0004

T1053.003Scheduled Task/Job: Cron×1

Evidence: 2026-09-23/cve-2026-93616-check-point-security-mgmt-path-traversal · ATT&CK page ↗

Entries about Check Point SmartEvent (1)

2026-09-23 · view entry permalink →

CRITICALCVE-2026-93616exploitedupdatedNATOA1

CVE-2026-93616, Check Point Security Management: pre-authentication path traversal to arbitrary script execution, exploited as a zero-day, with attacks observed on 2026-07-23 (CVSS 9.8)

Check Point discloses a pre-authentication directory-traversal and file-upload vulnerability that lets an unauthenticated attacker upload and execute arbitrary scripts on the Check Point Management Server (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22), which in Check Point Research's words "allows an attacker to execute a script from an arbitrary path and load an arbitrary Java class" (Check Point Research, 2026-09-22). It affects Security Management Server, Multi-Domain Security Management Server, Log Server, Multi-Domain Log Server and SmartEvent; Smart-1 Cloud already carries the fix, and Security Gateway appliances and Spark Firewall are not affected (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22). Check Point states it identified "a handful of pinpointed attacks" exploiting this as a zero-day on 2026-07-23 (Check Point Research, 2026-09-22), roughly two months before the 2026-09-22 disclosure and fix. Affected versions: R82.20 without the Security Hotfix or Jumbo Hotfix Take 10, R82.10 Jumbo Hotfix Take 44 or lower, R82 Take 126 or lower, R81.20 Take 166 or lower, R81.10 Take 190 or lower (end-of-support), and the end-of-support R80/R80.10–R80.40/R81 lines (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22). Fixed in the R82.20 Security Hotfix or Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator R82.20 Take 10+, R82.10 Take 45+ / R82 Take 127+ / R81.20 Take 170+ / R81.10 Take 192+; sk1000171 lists no fix for the end-of-support R80 through R81 lines (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22). Check Point states plainly "because of the nature of the fix, a LivePatch is not be available for this issue" (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22); the September LivePatch (Take 28/29) that addressed the unrelated CVE-2026-91843 flaw does not cover this vulnerability (The Hacker News, 2026-09-22). CISA added it to KEV the same day (CISA KEV, catalogue version 2026.09.22). This is a distinct, unrelated flaw from CVE-2026-85102 (a separate Check Point Security Gateway/Spark VPN certificate-validation RCE, disclosed 2026-09-09, with exploitation attempts reported from 2026-09-12 (Check Point Research, 2026-09-22)), with different components and no CVE overlap.

Detection concept: Check Point's sk1000171, revised on 2026-10-13, lists four indicators in the management-process log (cpm.elg): one for the authentication bypass, a login whose username field exceeds 1,000 characters with a management-process core dump written at the same moment, and three for an attacker already past authentication: a suspicious version path in an Invoking method ... in version: log line, which Check Point's search matches on dots, slashes, backslashes and their URL-encoded forms, an upload path carrying directory traversal toward the upgrade-tools files, and a JAR path that breaks out of the expected upgrade-tools directory (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22). Bishop Fox said on 2026-10-01 that its route to root never trips the upgrade-tools load-error indicator Check Point then listed, since that route writes a scheduled-task file and never calls the upgrade service (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01); the revised sk1000171 no longer lists that indicator (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22); neither Check Point nor Bishop Fox states whether the three new indicators catch that route, so file-integrity checks remain the test that does not depend on them. Triage: Check Point treats the over-long username paired with a simultaneous core dump as a possible attempt on this flaw's authentication bypass (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22), while Bishop Fox calls the same pairing the crash signature of the separate CVE-2026-91843, which the same hotfix fixes, and not evidence of this traversal (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01); an over-long username without a matching core dump does not meet Check Point's indicator. Hardening: because no LivePatch exists, restrict network reachability to the management web service (Check Point names TCP/19009 specifically) to trusted administrative IP ranges via the platform's Trusted Clients or implied-rule mechanism, which Bishop Fox calls Check Point's primary mitigation (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01).

A directory traversal and file upload vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to upload and execute arbitrary scripts on the Check Point Management Server. This vulnerability is exploited in the Wild. Check Point is aware of a handful of customers who have been attacked.

Check Point Support (sk1000171) 2026-09-22

As of the advisory publications date, we observed a handful of pinpointed attacks on July 23, 2026.

Check Point Research (blog) 2026-09-22

Because of the nature of the fix, a LivePatch is not be available for this issue.

Check Point Support (sk1000171) 2026-09-22

One exploit ran end to end against both unpatched hosts, confirming root on each, self-contained over the exposed port.

It fires only when an upgrade-tools load fails, which makes it a weak net both ways.

The primitive underneath is an arbitrary root write, so what catches this is file-integrity monitoring rather than a log grep.

Check Point remediated more than it described.

Bishop Fox 2026-10-01

If a core dump file was generated at the same time as the login attempt returned by the first command, there has been a potential attempt to exploit this vulnerability

Check Point Support (sk1000171) 2026-09-22

Update04 Oct 2026 05:12 UTCrun 2026-10-04T0405Z-inteltitlesummaryimmediate_actiontagstechniquescvessourcesevidencesourcing_noteactionsbody

Bishop Fox published on 2026-10-01 a lab reproduction of an unauthenticated root code-execution chain on unpatched R81.10 and R82.10 management servers, run end to end over TCP 19009 (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01). The chain mints a session by presenting the server's own internal certificate name, which the server accepts from a caller-supplied string without checking that a certificate was presented, then uses the file service to write a file anywhere as root; overwriting a stock scheduled-task file makes the system's cron daemon run the attacker's command as root with no further request, and the output is read back over the same session (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01). Bishop Fox confirmed two further routes from the same write to code execution and says closing any one leaves the others standing (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01). The post describes the chain but links only a patch-state scanner, not the exploit script.

Bishop Fox reads the hotfix as closing three defects while the advisory names two: the forged login, the unbounded file write and the upgrade-service parameter validation, with either of the first two alone breaking the chain; this is its comparison of the shipped code, not a Check Point statement (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01). Its scanner reads patch state from outside with one benign request to the management port and, per its README, does not detect prior compromise (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01).

Bishop Fox says Check Point's second indicator at the time (an upgrade-tools load-error grep, as sk1000171 then listed it) fires only when an upgrade-tools load fails and is never reached by this route, so it leaves neither the error line nor the parent-directory sequence, and that a genuine upgrade can trip it; it calls the first indicator, an over-long username next to a core dump, the crash signature of the separate CVE-2026-91843 and not evidence of this traversal (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01). An exposed, unpatched server with neither log sign is therefore not shown to be clean. Its hunting advice is file-integrity monitoring of scheduled-task directories, startup and SSH key paths, the normally empty upgrade-tools directory, the CPM configuration files and anything new in the output-staging directory, paired with execution telemetry, cron reload events and an alert on the management Java process spawning a shell, because a scheduled hash check can miss stock files restored byte for byte (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01). It also notes that the Trusted Clients restriction is a permissions setting that emits an implied rule, so a rule-base audit alone can miss it (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01).

Correction19 Oct 2026 18:34 UTCrun 2026-10-11T1307Z-auditcvesbodyimmediate_actionactions

Check Point's sk1000171 lists R82.20 as affected without an all-takes scope, and the fix is also included in the Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator for R82.20 from Take 10; it lists no fix for the end-of-support R80 through R81 lines (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22). Check Point revised sk1000171 on 2026-10-13: it now lists an authentication-bypass indicator and three indicators for an attacker past authentication, a suspicious version path invocation, an upload path with directory traversal and a JAR path breaking out of the upgrade-tools directory (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22).

Correction20 Oct 2026 08:42 UTCrun 2026-10-20T0835Z-auditbodyevidenceimmediate_actionsummary

The urgent patch instruction omitted the Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator for R82.20 from Take 10, which Check Point lists as carrying the fix alongside the R82.20 Security Hotfix (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22).

Bishop Fox's statement that Check Point's indicators miss its route dates from its 2026-10-01 post and concerned the upgrade-tools load-error indicator, which its scheduled-task-file route never trips (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01); sk1000171 as revised on 2026-10-13 no longer lists that indicator and gives three post-authentication checks instead (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22), and neither party states whether they catch the route. The revised first indicator is not only an over-long username: Check Point pairs it with a management-process core dump written at the same moment, "If a core dump file was generated at the same time as the login attempt returned by the first command, there has been a potential attempt to exploit this vulnerability" (Check Point Support, sk1000171, 2026-09-22), and that pairing is the one Bishop Fox calls the crash signature of CVE-2026-91843 rather than evidence of this traversal (Bishop Fox, 2026-10-01).

Builds on: Two pre-auth code-execution flaws sit in the certificate-processing step every VPN negotiation… · A stack overflow in Check Point's unauthenticated management login reaches root. Patch or…

vulnerability23 Sep 04:40Zmulti-sourceOpen finding →

Sources: Check Point Support (sk1000171) · Check Point Research (blog) · The Hacker News · CISA KEV · Bishop Fox · Bishop Fox (detection tool README)

Co-occurring entities

Derived: referenced by the same focused operational entries (weekly summaries and report roundups don't count); ×N counts the shared entries.

Check Point Log Server×1
productproduct:check-point-log-server
Check Point Multi-Domain Log Server×1
productproduct:check-point-multi-domain-log-server
Check Point Multi-Domain Security Management Server×1
productproduct:check-point-multi-domain-security-management-server
Check Point Security Management Server×1
productproduct:check-point-security-management-server
Check Point Security Management: pre-auth path traversal to arbitrary script execution, exploited as a zero-day since July×1
cveCVE-2026-93616

Where this entity is cited

Vulns1

Source distribution

bishopfox.com1 (17%)
blog.checkpoint.com1 (17%)
cisa.gov1 (17%)
github.com1 (17%)
support.checkpoint.com1 (17%)
thehackernews.com1 (17%)

All cited sources (6)