Wireless Lan ControllerApplication · Cisco
CVE-2019-1796
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the handling of Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP) messages by Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability exist because the software improperly validates input on fields within IAPP messages. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending malicious IAPP messages to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco WLC Software to reload, resulting in a DoS condition. Software versions prior to 8.2.170.0, 8.5.150.0, and 8.8.100.0 are affected.
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 confidenceA medium-severity input validation vulnerability exists in Cisco Wireless LAN Controller software where malformed Inter-Access Point Protocol (IAPP) messages are not properly validated, allowing an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to trigger a device reload and cause denial of service.
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 ControllerApplication
< 8.2.170.0
Wireless Lan Controller SoftwareOperating system
>= 8.3.143.0, < 8.5.150.0>= 8.7.106.0, < 8.8.100.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Cisco WLC software versionLog into the Wireless LAN Controller CLI and run 'show version' or access the web interface to view the software versionAffected if The installed version falls into any of these ranges: < 8.2.170.0, OR >= 8.3.143.0 AND < 8.5.150.0, OR >= 8.7.106.0 AND < 8.8.100.0
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Verify IAPP protocol is in useCheck WLC configuration for access points using IAPP inter-AP communication. Use 'show ap config general' or review AP group settings in the WLC web interfaceAffected if Any access points are configured to use IAPP for inter-AP communication - this is the protocol vulnerable to malformed message handling
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Confirm device is a Cisco Wireless LAN ControllerVerify the device model via 'show inventory' or the web interface. This vulnerability only affects Cisco WLC platforms, not standalone APsAffected if The device is a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller model running the affected software versions listed above
A user is affected if their Cisco WLC runs any version before 8.2.170.0, between 8.3.143.0-8.5.149.0, or between 8.7.106.0-8.8.99.0 and has IAPP-enabled access points in the network.
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 data8.2.170.08.5.150.08.8.100.0
Upgrade Cisco WLC software to version 8.2.170.0, 8.5.150.0, 8.8.100.0 or later to patch the input validation flaw in IAPP message handling.
Fix this in Wireless Lan Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-1796 — 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-2019-1796 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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