dbcve.org
Wireless Lan Controller SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2014-0701

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-03-06
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
Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) devices 7.0 before 7.0.250.0, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4 before 7.4.110.0 do not properly deallocate memory, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (reboot) by sending WebAuth login requests at a high rate, aka Bug ID CSCuf52361.

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

Cisco Wireless LAN Controller devices running versions 7.0 before 7.0.250.0, 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4 before 7.4.110.0 contain a memory management flaw where WebAuth login requests are not properly deallocated. Attackers can trigger this by sending high volumes of unauthenticated WebAuth login requests, causing memory exhaustion and forced device reboot (Denial of Service).

MitigationUpgrade Cisco WLC software to version 7.0.250.0, 7.4.110.0 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider rate-limiting WebAuth requests at upstream network devices or implementing ACLs to limit exposure to unauthenticated WebAuth traffic.

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
Wireless Lan Controller SoftwareOperating system
Affected:= 7.0= 7.0.220.0= 7.0.235.0= 7.2= 7.2.103.0= 7.2.110.0= 7.3= 7.3.101.0= 7.4.100.0= 7.4.100.60

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 the device as a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller
    Run `show version` or `show inventory` on the device and verify it is a Cisco WLC model
    Affected if The device is not a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller - this vulnerability only affects WLC devices
  2. Check the installed software version
    Run `show version` and locate the 'Software Version' field. Compare it against the affected ranges: 7.0.x versions before 7.0.250.0, 7.2.x, 7.3.x, and 7.4.x versions before 7.4.110.0
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected versions (7.0 before 7.0.250.0, 7.2, 7.3, or 7.4 before 7.4.110.0)
  3. Verify WebAuth feature is enabled
    Run `show running-config | include webauth` or `show auth-list` to check if Web Authentication is configured on any WLANs or interfaces
    Affected if WebAuth is enabled and accepting unauthenticated login requests - this is required for the attack vector
  4. Check for memory exhaustion symptoms
    Run `show memory` and review the 'Free Memory' and 'Used Memory' values. Also check `show process cpu history` for unusual spikes. Review system logs with `show logging` for unexpected reloads
    Affected if Free memory is consistently low or logs show unexpected device reloads, indicating potential memory exhaustion from the vulnerability

A Cisco WLC running an affected software version (7.0 before 7.0.250.0, 7.2, 7.3, or 7.4 before 7.4.110.0) with WebAuth enabled is vulnerable to memory exhaustion from unauthenticated login requests.

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 7.0.250.0, 7.4.110.0 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider rate-limiting WebAuth requests at upstream network devices or implementing ACLs to limit exposure to unauthenticated WebAuth traffic.

Fix this in Wireless Lan Controller Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2014-0701 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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