Full Report
HPE security advisory (AV26-196)
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Multiple Vulnerabilities in HPE Aruba Networking Wireless Operating Systems (AOS-8 and AOS-10)
## CVE Details
*Note: This summary reflects the critical vulnerabilities addressed in the official HPE advisory (HPESBNW05026).*
- **CVE ID:** CVE-2024-26304, CVE-2024-26305 (Representative examples of critical Command Injection flaws)
- **CVSS Score:** 9.8 (Critical)
- **CWE:** CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command), CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow)
## Affected Systems
- **Products:**
- Mobility Conductors (formerly Mobility Masters)
- Mobility Controllers
- WLAN Gateways and Managed Gateways
- Access Points (AOS-8 and AOS-10)
- **Versions:**
- AOS-10.5.x.x: 10.5.1.0 and below
- AOS-10.4.x.x: 10.4.1.0 and below
- AOS-8.11.x.x: 8.11.2.1 and below
- AOS-8.10.x.x: 8.10.0.10 and below
- **Configurations:** Systems running the affected AOS versions with management interfaces exposed to the network.
## Vulnerability Description
Multiple vulnerabilities exist in the underlying PAPI (Aruba Networks Management Protocol) and command-line parsing logic of HPE Aruba Networking Wireless Operating Systems. Specifically, unauthenticated buffer overflows and command injection flaws allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code by sending specially crafted packets to the PAPI UDP port (8211).
## Exploitation
- **Status:** Not exploited in the wild (at time of advisory release); however, technical details are sufficient for security researchers to develop PoCs.
- **Complexity:** Low
- **Attack Vector:** Network (Remote)
## Impact
- **Confidentiality:** Total (Attacker can access sensitive data and system configurations)
- **Integrity:** Total (Attacker can modify system files and firmware)
- **Availability:** Total (Attacker can disable the networking infrastructure or crash the service)
## Remediation
### Patches
HPE recommends upgrading to the following versions or later:
- **AOS-10.5.x.x:** 10.5.1.1
- **AOS-10.4.x.x:** 10.4.1.1
- **AOS-8.11.x.x:** 8.11.2.2
- **AOS-8.10.x.x:** 8.10.0.11
### Workarounds
- **Enable Enhanced PAPI Security:** Use the "PAPI Security" feature with a non-default shared key. This prevents unauthenticated attackers from successfully delivering the exploit payload to the PAPI service.
- **Access Control:** Restrict access to the management interfaces (UDP port 8211) using firewalls or ACLs to trusted administrative networks only.
## Detection
- **Indicators of Compromise:** Monitor for unexpected crashes of the `papi` process or unusual outbound traffic originating from managed controllers or access points.
- **Detection Methods and Tools:** Use Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) to monitor traffic on UDP port 8211 for malformed packets or patterns associated with buffer overflow attempts against Aruba AOS services.
## References
- **Vendor Advisory:** hxxps[://]support[.]hpe[.]com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=hpesbnw05026en_us
- **HPE Security Bulletin Library:** hxxps[://]support[.]hpe[.]com/connect/s/securitybulletinlibrary?language=en_US
- **CCCS Bulletin:** hxxps[://]www[.]cyber[.]gc[.]ca/en/alerts-advisories/hpe-security-advisory-av26-196