# Federal Agencies Patch VPN Vulnerability

A critical VPN certificate validation vulnerability (CVE-2026-85102) affecting Check Point Security Gateways and Spark Firewalls was patched on September 9, 2026, following active exploitation reports. Federal agencies and organizations using these products face a federal remediation deadline of September 25, 2026, to apply the security patches and mitigate risks of remote code execution and unauthorized access. This urgent cybersecurity update is essential to maintain compliance with federal security mandates and protect enterprise VPN infrastructure from ongoing threats.

- Federal procurement and IT security teams must prioritize patch deployment for Check Point VPN products by the September 25 deadline to avoid non-compliance and security breaches.
- This vulnerability highlights the critical need for continuous monitoring and rapid response capabilities in federal cybersecurity procurement and contract management.
- Vendors providing VPN and firewall solutions should emphasize timely patch management and vulnerability mitigation services to federal clients.
- Organizations should evaluate their cybersecurity contracts and SLAs to ensure provisions for rapid vulnerability response and compliance with federal deadlines.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Cybersecurity
**Published:** September 23, 2026

### Government Entities
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
- CERT-EU
- Dutch National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)

### Vendors
- Check Point (vendor)

### Sources
- [The VPN Certificate Bypass That Was Patched in September Is Now Actively Exploited — Federal Deadline Hits Sep 25 – Forkast](https://forkast.news/the-vpn-certificate-bypass-that-was-patched-in-september-is-now-actively-exploited-federal-deadline-hits-sep-25) - forkast.news