CVE-2021-25165
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 remote XML external entity vulnerability was discovered in Aruba AirWave Management Platform version(s) prior to 8.2.12.1. Aruba has released patches for AirWave Management Platform that address this security vulnerability.
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 · moderate confidenceA remote XML external entity (XXE) vulnerability in Aruba AirWave Management Platform versions prior to 8.2.12.1 allows authenticated attackers to craft malicious XML requests that can expose internal system files, perform server-side requests, or 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< 8.2.12.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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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Identify if Aruba AirWave is installedLocate the AirWave installation by checking for the web interface (typically on port 443 or 8080) or look for the 'airwave' service/process running on the system. Common installation paths include /opt/airwave or C:\Program Files\Aruba\AirWave.Affected if AirWave Management Platform is not found on the system.
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Determine the installed AirWave versionAccess the AirWave web login page and look for the version information, typically displayed in the footer or under 'Help' > 'About'. Alternatively, check the version via command line if you have server access.Affected if The installed version is lower than 8.2.12.1.
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Verify XML functionality is accessibleCheck if the AirWave web interface exposes XML-handling endpoints. These are typically found in API areas or functionality that accepts XML input (such as device configuration import, XML-based reporting, or API integrations).Affected if XML processing endpoints are exposed and accessible without additional network restrictions.
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Confirm authentication is enabledVerify that AirWave requires valid credentials for access. The vulnerability requires an authenticated session, so confirm that user authentication is configured and functional.Affected if Authentication is disabled or uses default/weak credentials that could be easily compromised.
You are affected if AirWave Management Platform is installed with a version lower than 8.2.12.1 and XML endpoints are accessible to authenticated users.
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 data8.2.12.1
Apply the vendor-released patches for AirWave Management Platform to version 8.2.12.1 or later, and ensure XML parser configurations disable external entity processing.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-25165 — 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-2021-25165 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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