dbcve.org
Aironet 1800 FirmwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-12281

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-11-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A vulnerability in the implementation of Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) functionality for standalone configurations of Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to bypass authentication and connect to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected device uses an incorrect default configuration setting of fail open when running in standalone mode. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by attempting to connect to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass authentication and connect to the affected device. This vulnerability affects Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points that are running a vulnerable software release and use WLAN configuration settings that include FlexConnect local switching and central authentication with MAC filtering. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd46314.

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 PEAP implementation for Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points running in standalone mode allows unauthenticated adjacent attackers to bypass authentication. The root cause is an incorrect default 'fail open' configuration setting instead of 'fail closed', which permits connections when authentication should fail. This affects devices using WLAN configurations with FlexConnect local switching and central authentication with MAC filtering.

MitigationChange the default authentication fail-open setting to fail-closed in the WLAN configuration for affected access points. Verify that wireless clients are properly authenticated before granting network access.

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
Aironet 1800 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aironet 2800 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aironet 3800 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 access point model
    Check the device model through the Cisco Aironet web interface, CLI (show version), or SNMP inventory. Look for model numbers 1800, 2800, or 3800 series.
    Affected if The device is a Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, or 3800 series access point.
  2. Verify standalone mode operation
    Check the access point configuration through CLI (show controllers) or the web interface to confirm it is running in standalone (autonomous) mode rather than lightweight mode (joined to a WLC).
    Affected if The access point is operating in standalone (autonomous) mode.
  3. Confirm FlexConnect local switching is enabled
    Examine the WLAN configuration through the web interface (Wireless > WLANs > Edit) or CLI (show wlan) to determine if FlexConnect local switching is enabled for the affected WLANs.
    Affected if FlexConnect local switching is enabled on the WLAN configuration.
  4. Verify central authentication with MAC filtering
    Review the WLAN security settings to confirm that central authentication is configured (typically with a RADIUS server) and that MAC filtering is enabled as an additional authentication method.
    Affected if The WLAN uses central authentication with MAC filtering enabled.
  5. Check authentication fail-open setting
    Inspect the WLAN security configuration for the authentication fail-open/fail-closed setting. In the web interface, this is found under Wireless > WLANs > Security > Layer 2 > Authentication Fail Tolerance or similar. In CLI, use show wlan to display the authentication parameters.
    Affected if The authentication fail-open setting is set to 'fail open' (allowing connections when authentication fails) instead of 'fail closed'.

A user is affected if they have a Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, or 3800 series AP in standalone mode with FlexConnect local switching and central authentication using MAC filtering, where the authentication fail-open setting is configured to allow connections on authentication failure.

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

Change the default authentication fail-open setting to fail-closed in the WLAN configuration for affected access points. Verify that wireless clients are properly authenticated before granting network access.

Fix this in Aironet 1800 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2017-12281 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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