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4400 Wireless Lan ControllerHardware / appliance · Cisco

CVE-2009-0061

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-02-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
87/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Unspecified vulnerability in the Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) TSEC driver in the Cisco 4400 WLC, Cisco Catalyst 6500 and 7600 Wireless Services Module (WiSM), and Cisco Catalyst 3750 Integrated Wireless LAN Controller with software 4.x before 4.2.176.0 and 5.x before 5.1 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device crash or hang) via unknown IP packets.

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

A vulnerability in the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) TSEC driver allows remote attackers to send specially crafted IP packets to affected devices, causing a denial of service via device crash or hang. The vulnerability affects Cisco 4400 WLC, WiSM modules, and Catalyst 3750 Integrated WLC running software versions 4.x prior to 4.2.176.0 and 5.x prior to 5.1.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco WLC software to version 4.2.176.0 or later for 4.x branches, or 5.1 or later for 5.x branches. Prior to upgrade, verify backup configurations and plan maintenance window given critical role of wireless controllers in network infrastructure.

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
4400 Wireless Lan ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:= 4.1= 4.2= 5.0
Catalyst 3750 Series Integrated Wireless Lan ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:= 4.1= 4.2= 5.0
Catalyst 6500 Series Integrated Wireless Lan ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:= 4.1= 4.2= 5.0
Catalyst 7600 Series Wireless Lan ControllerHardware / appliance
Affected:= 4.1= 4.2= 5.0
Wireless Lan Controller SoftwareOperating system
Affected:= 4.1= 4.2= 5.0

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
Complete

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

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 Cisco WLC device in your environment
    Inventory your network for Cisco 4400 Wireless LAN Controllers, Catalyst 3750/6500/7600 series Integrated WLCs, or other Cisco WLC devices. Use network scans or asset management tools to find these devices.
    Affected if Any of these Cisco WLC models are present in your environment
  2. Retrieve the software version from the WLC
    Access the WLC CLI and run 'show version' or access the web interface and check the controller summary page to obtain the installed software version.
    Affected if The displayed version is 4.1.x, 4.2.x prior to 4.2.176.0, or 5.0.x
  3. Confirm the exact version number for 4.2 branch
    If the version shows 4.2.x, run 'show version' or check the web interface to identify the precise build. Compare against 4.2.176.0 - versions below this are affected.
    Affected if The version is 4.2.x and the build number is less than 176.0
  4. Verify IP network access to the WLC
    Confirm that the WLC management or service-port interface has an IP address and is reachable on the network. Use 'show interface' on the CLI to check IP configuration.
    Affected if The WLC has a routable IP address and accepts IP traffic (this makes the device exploitable)

You are affected if you have a Cisco 4400 WLC, Catalyst 3750/6500/7600 Integrated WLC, or other Cisco WLC running software version 4.1.x, 4.2.x prior to 4.2.176.0, or 5.0.x with network accessibility.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Cisco WLC software to version 4.2.176.0 or later for 4.x branches, or 5.1 or later for 5.x branches. Prior to upgrade, verify backup configurations and plan maintenance window given critical role of wireless controllers in network infrastructure.

Fix this in 4400 Wireless Lan Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2009-0061 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
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data