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Wireless Lan Controller SoftwareOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2017-12282

MEDIUM · 6.1 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 →
66/100
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
A vulnerability in the Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) ingress frame processing functionality of Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers could allow an unauthenticated, Layer 2 RF-adjacent attacker to cause an affected device to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to incomplete input validation of ANQP query frames by the affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed ANQP query frame to an affected device that is on an RF-adjacent network. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition. This vulnerability affects Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers that are running a vulnerable release of Cisco WLC Software and are configured to support Hotspot 2.0. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve05779.

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 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers' Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) ingress frame processing allows an unauthenticated, Layer 2 RF-adjacent attacker to send malformed ANQP query frames that trigger an unexpected device restart, causing denial of service. The vulnerability stems from incomplete input validation of ANQP query frames in devices configured for Hotspot 2.0.

MitigationApply the Cisco software update/patch for this vulnerability (refer to CSCve05779) to affected WLC devices. Until patched, consider disabling Hotspot 2.0 functionality if not required, or implement RF isolation controls to limit attack surface.

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: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
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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. Confirm Cisco Wireless LAN Controller is in use
    Identify the device model and verify it is a Cisco WLC (e.g., show inventory, show version commands). This vulnerability affects only Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers.
    Affected if Device is a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller running any software version
  2. Check if Hotspot 2.0 is enabled
    Use the command 'show hotspot' or 'show run-config' and look for Hotspot 2.0 or 802.11u configuration parameters. Alternatively, check WLAN settings for Hotspot 2.0 policy configuration.
    Affected if Hotspot 2.0 functionality is enabled on the controller
  3. Verify ANQP configuration is present
    Check for ANQP-related settings using 'show wlan' or examine the hotspot profile configuration. ANQP (Access Network Query Protocol) is used by Hotspot 2.0.
    Affected if ANQP or Hotspot 2.0 profiles are configured on the WLAN
  4. Confirm software version
    Execute 'show version' on the WLC CLI to retrieve the installed Cisco Wireless LAN Controller software version.
    Affected if Any version of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Software is running (all versions are affected)

If the device is a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller with Hotspot 2.0 or ANQP functionality enabled, it is affected by this vulnerability.

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

Apply the Cisco software update/patch for this vulnerability (refer to CSCve05779) to affected WLC devices. Until patched, consider disabling Hotspot 2.0 functionality if not required, or implement RF isolation controls to limit attack surface.

Fix this in Wireless Lan Controller Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2017-12282 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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