Cisco Aironet Series Access Points Command Injection Vulnerability

Vulnerability

A command injection vulnerability in the CLI of Cisco Aironet Series Access Points (APs) allows an authenticated local attacker to gain access to the underlying Linux operating system without proper authentication [1]. The vulnerability is due to improper validation of user-supplied input for certain CLI commands. Affected products include Aironet 1540, 1560, 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series APs running vulnerable software releases. No workarounds are available [1].

Exploitation

An attacker must have valid administrator device credentials to exploit this vulnerability. The attacker authenticates to an affected device via a CLI session and submits crafted input for a vulnerable CLI command [1]. No user interaction is required beyond the attacker's own actions.

Impact

A successful exploit allows the attacker to obtain access to the underlying Linux OS without proper authentication, potentially leading to full compromise of the AP [1]. The attacker gains elevated privileges and can execute arbitrary commands on the Linux OS.

Mitigation

Cisco has released software updates to address this vulnerability. Affected users should upgrade to a fixed software release as specified in the Cisco Security Advisory [1]. As there are no workarounds, applying the update is the only remediation.