dbcve.org
Airport ExpressHardware / appliance · Apple

CVE-2005-0289

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-05-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 6.1 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Apple AirPort Express prior to 6.1.1 and Extreme prior to 5.5.1, configured as a Wireless Data Service (WDS), allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device freeze) by connecting to UDP port 161 and before link-state change occurs.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Apple AirPort Express (pre-6.1.1) and AirPort Extreme (pre-5.5.1) base stations configured as Wireless Data Service (WDS) contain a denial-of-service vulnerability. Attackers can freeze the device by sending traffic to UDP port 161 (SNMP) before a link-state change completes.

MitigationUpgrade AirPort Express firmware to 6.1.1 or later, and AirPort Extreme firmware to 5.5.1 or later. If devices cannot be updated (EOL), replace with supported hardware.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Airport ExpressHardware / appliance
Affected:<= 6.1
Airport ExtremeHardware / appliance
Affected:<= 5.5

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the AirPort device model
    Locate the AirPort base station and confirm it is either an AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme model
    Affected if The device is an AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme base station
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    Access the AirPort Administration Utility (usually via http://airportExtremeIP or http://airportExpressIP) and view the current firmware version under the base station status or summary page
    Affected if Firmware version is 6.1 or earlier on AirPort Express, or 5.5 or earlier on AirPort Extreme
  3. Verify WDS configuration is enabled
    In the AirPort Administration Utility, navigate to the Wireless or WDS settings and confirm if Wireless Distribution System (WDS) mode is enabled
    Affected if WDS mode is enabled on the base station

The device is affected if it is an AirPort Express running firmware 6.1 or earlier, or an AirPort Extreme running firmware 5.5 or earlier, AND has WDS mode enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 6.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade AirPort Express firmware to 6.1.1 or later, and AirPort Extreme firmware to 5.5.1 or later. If devices cannot be updated (EOL), replace with supported hardware.

Fix this in Airport Express Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-0289 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data