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Wireless Lan Controller SoftwareApplication · Cisco

CVE-2016-6375

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 before 8.0.140.0, 8.1.x and 8.2.x before 8.2.121.0, and 8.3.x before 8.3.102.0 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (device reload) by sending crafted Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP) packets and then sending a traffic stream metrics (TSM) information request over SNMP, aka Bug ID CSCuz40221.

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 contain a denial of service vulnerability where a remote attacker can cause device reload by sending crafted Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP) packets followed by a traffic stream metrics (TSM) information request over SNMP. This two-step attack sequence triggers the device to crash and reload.

MitigationUpgrade Cisco WLC firmware to version 8.0.140.0, 8.2.121.0, 8.3.102.0 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict SNMP access and block untrusted IAPP traffic at network boundaries.

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 SoftwareApplication
Affected:= 8.0.72.140= 3.0_base= 3.1.59.24= 3.1.105.0= 3.1.111.0= 3.2.78.0= 3.2.116.21= 3.2.150.6= 3.2.150.10= 3.2.171.5= 3.2.171.6= 3.2.185.0
Wireless Lan Controller Software 6.0Operating system
Affected:= 182.0= 188.0= 196.0= 199.4= 202.0
Wireless Lan Controller Software 7.0Operating system
Affected:= 98.0= 98.218= 116.0= 220.0= 240.0= 250.0= 252.0
Wireless Lan Controller Software 7.1Operating system
Affected:= 91.0
Wireless Lan Controller Software 7.2Operating system
Affected:= 103.0
Wireless Lan Controller Software 7.4Operating system
Affected:= 1.19= 1.54= 140.0

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
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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
    Access the WLC CLI and run 'show inventory' or use the web interface to confirm the device model is a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) series device
    Affected if The device is not a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (the vulnerability only affects WLC devices)
  2. Check the installed software version
    Run 'show version' on the WLC CLI or check via the web interface under Monitor > Controllers > specific controller > Version Info. Compare the version number to the list of affected versions: 8.0.72.140, 3.0_base, 3.1.59.24, 3.1.105.0, 3.1.111.0, 3.2.78.0, 3.2.116.21, 3.2.150.6, 3.2.150.10, 3.2.171.5, 3.2.171.6, 3.2.185.0, 6.0 versions 182.0/188.0/196.0/199.4/202.0, 7.0 versions 98.0/98.218/116.0/220.0/240.0/250.0/252.0, 7.1 version 91.0, 7.2 version 103.0, 7.4 versions 1.19/1.54/140.0
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches one of the listed affected versions
  3. Verify if SNMP is enabled
    Run 'show snmp' on the WLC CLI or check via the web interface under Management > SNMP > General. Check if any SNMP version (v1/v2c/v3) is enabled with read or read-write community strings configured
    Affected if SNMP is enabled (the second step of the attack requires a TSM information request over SNMP)
  4. Check if IAPP traffic can reach the WLC
    Review network perimeter controls to determine if UDP port 3517 (IAPP) traffic from untrusted sources can reach the WLC interfaces. Check WLC ACLs or attached switch port configurations for allowed UDP traffic on port 3517
    Affected if IAPP traffic (UDP port 3517) from untrusted network segments is permitted to reach the WLC

You are affected if you are running a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller on any of the listed affected versions AND SNMP is enabled AND untrusted IAPP traffic can reach your device, as both the IAPP packet injection and SNMP TSM request are required to trigger the crash.

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 firmware to version 8.0.140.0, 8.2.121.0, 8.3.102.0 or later. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict SNMP access and block untrusted IAPP traffic at network boundaries.

Fix this in Wireless Lan Controller Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2016-6375 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