CVE-2016-8526
Description
Aruba Airwave all versions up to, but not including, 8.2.3.1 is vulnerable to an XML external entities (XXE). XXEs are a way to permit XML parsers to access storage that exist on external systems. If an unprivileged user is permitted to control the contents of XML files, XXE can be used as an attack vector. Because the XML parser has access to the local filesystem and runs with the permissions of the web server, it can access any file that is readable by the web server and copy it to an external system of the attacker's choosing. This could include files that contain passwords, which could then lead to privilege escalation.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Aruba AirWave prior to 8.2.3.1 is vulnerable to XXE, allowing unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary files and exfiltrate them, potentially leading to privilege escalation.
Vulnerability
Aruba AirWave versions up to and including 8.2.3 (excluding 8.2.3.1) are vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection. The XML parser used by the application does not disable external entity resolution, allowing an attacker to include external entities in XML data processed by the server. This vulnerability can be triggered by any user who can supply XML content to the parser, including low-privileged read-only users [1].
Exploitation
An attacker with network access to the AirWave management interface can craft a malicious XML payload containing an external entity that references a local file (e.g., /etc/passwd or configuration files containing credentials). The attacker must be able to submit this XML to a vulnerable endpoint. No authentication is required if the endpoint is publicly accessible; otherwise, a low-privileged account suffices. The XML parser will resolve the entity and include the file content in the response or send it to an attacker-controlled external system via an out-of-band channel [1].
Impact
Successful exploitation allows the attacker to read any file readable by the web server process, including sensitive files such as passwords, private keys, or database credentials. This information can be exfiltrated to an external system, potentially leading to privilege escalation and full compromise of the AirWave management platform [1].
Mitigation
The vulnerability is fixed in Aruba AirWave version 8.2.3.1. Users should upgrade to this version or later. No workaround is documented; disabling XML external entity processing in the application configuration may be possible but is not officially provided. The vendor has released a security advisory [1].
AI Insight generated on May 26, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
2- Range: all versions up to, but not including, 8.2.3.1
Patches
0No patches discovered yet.
Vulnerability mechanics
No source-code context for this CVE — mechanics is only generated when we can read the actual fix diff. Without that, the four sections (root cause, attack vector, affected code, fix) would be speculation rather than analysis.
References
3- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41482/mitreexploitx_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- www.arubanetworks.com/assets/alert/ARUBA-PSA-2017-001.txtmitrex_refsource_CONFIRM
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/96495mitrevdb-entryx_refsource_BID
News mentions
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