CVE-2018-5797
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Extreme Networks ExtremeWireless WiNG 5.x before 5.8.6.9 and 5.9.x before 5.9.1.3. There is an Smint_encrypt Hardcoded AES Key that can be used for packet decryption (obtaining cleartext credentials) by an attacker who has access to a wired port.
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 confidenceExtremeWireless WiNG 5.x before 5.8.6.9 and 5.9.x before 5.9.1.3 contains a hardcoded AES encryption key in the Smint_encrypt function. An attacker with physical or network access to a wired port can intercept encrypted packets and decrypt them to obtain cleartext credentials.
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>= 5.0, < 5.8.6.9>= 5.9.0, < 5.9.1.3CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the WiNG firmware versionAccess the wireless controller CLI or web interface and retrieve the system firmware version. Common commands include 'show version' or checking the system information page.Affected if The installed version is 5.x before 5.8.6.9, or 5.9.x before 5.9.1.3, or any version between 5.8.6.9 and 5.9.0 (the latter range is not explicitly listed but falls between the fixed versions).
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Confirm the product is ExtremeWireless WiNGVerify the device is running ExtremeWireless WiNG software by checking the system type or product name in the controller interface or via 'show system' command.Affected if The device is not ExtremeWireless WiNG (the CVE specifically affects this product).
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Assess wired port accessibilityReview network configuration to determine if wired ports on the wireless infrastructure devices are accessible from untrusted networks or physical locations.Affected if Wired ports or management interfaces are exposed to network segments accessible by untrusted users, as this is required for an attacker to intercept encrypted packets.
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Check for external management interface exposureReview firewall rules, ACLs, or VLAN configurations to determine if the device management interface (typically ports 22, 80, 443, or proprietary wireless management ports) is reachable from outside the trusted management network.Affected if Management or control plane traffic is reachable from untrusted networks, enabling the attacker condition described in the CVE.
A system is affected if it runs ExtremeWireless WiNG firmware versions 5.0 through 5.8.6.8 or 5.9.0 through 5.9.1.2, and the wired ports or management interfaces are accessible to potential attackers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data5.8.6.95.9.1.3
Update ExtremeWireless WiNG firmware to version 5.8.6.9 or 5.9.1.3 or later to remove the hardcoded AES key. Additionally, restrict physical and wired access to network infrastructure to limit exposure.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5797 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-5797 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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