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ArubaosOperating system · Arubanetworks

CVE-2023-45615

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.6.0.23 / 8.10.0.9 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
There are buffer overflow vulnerabilities in the underlying CLI service that could lead to unauthenticated remote code execution by sending specially crafted packets destined to the PAPI (Aruba's access point management protocol) UDP port (8211). Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities result in the ability to execute arbitrary code as a privileged user on the underlying operating system.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerabilities in Aruba's CLI service for the PAPI (access point management) protocol on UDP port 8211 allow unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code as privileged users by sending specially crafted packets.

MitigationApply available vendor patches or firmware updates from Aruba for affected products; as a compensating control, restrict or block untrusted access to UDP port 8211.

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
ArubaosOperating system
Affected:>= 10.3.0.0, < 10.4.0.3= 10.5.0.0
InstantosOperating system
Affected:>= 6.4.0.0, < 8.6.0.23>= 8.10.0.0, < 8.10.0.9>= 8.11.0.0, < 8.11.2.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 product and version
    Run 'show version' on the Aruba device CLI or check system information in the web interface to determine if the device runs ArubaOS or HP InstantOS and note the exact firmware version
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: ArubaOS >= 10.3.0.0 and < 10.4.0.3, or = 10.5.0.0; HP InstantOS >= 6.4.0.0 and < 8.6.0.23, or >= 8.10.0.0 and < 8.10.0.9, or >= 8.11.0.0 and < 8.11.2.0
  2. Verify PAPI service is accessible
    Check if UDP port 8211 is open and listening on the device using 'show ip interface' or by scanning the device from an external host with 'nmap -sU -p 8211 <device_ip>'
    Affected if UDP port 8211 is open and reachable (the PAPI protocol service is exposed)
  3. Confirm PAPI protocol is enabled
    Run 'show papi status' or 'show controller' in the CLI to verify the PAPI service is enabled and operational
    Affected if The PAPI service shows as enabled or running in the command output
  4. Check network exposure of management interface
    Review the device network configuration to determine if the management interface (or interface bound to UDP 8211) is accessible from untrusted networks, using 'show management' or reviewing ACL configurations
    Affected if The management interface with PAPI is exposed to untrusted network segments or the internet

You are affected if the device runs a vulnerable ArubaOS or HP InstantOS version AND UDP port 8211 (PAPI service) is accessible from a network where untrusted actors can reach it.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.6.0.23 / 8.10.0.9 / 8.11.2.0 or later
Fixed in 8.6.0.238.10.0.98.11.2.0
Interim mitigation

Apply available vendor patches or firmware updates from Aruba for affected products; as a compensating control, restrict or block untrusted access to UDP port 8211.

Recommended fix High confidence

ArubaOS: 10.4.0.3+ (for 10.3.x) / 10.5.1.0+ (for 10.5.0.0); InstantOS: 8.6.0.23+, 8.10.0.9+, 8.11.2.0+

  1. Identify the current ArubaOS or InstantOS version running on the affected device using 'show version' command
  2. For ArubaOS 10.3.x deployments: Upgrade to ArubaOS 10.4.0.3 or later (or the latest 10.4.x stable release)
  3. For ArubaOS 10.5.0.0 deployments: Upgrade to the next available 10.5.x stable release that includes the security fix
  4. For InstantOS 6.4.x deployments: Upgrade to InstantOS 8.6.0.23 or later
  5. For InstantOS 8.10.x deployments: Upgrade to InstantOS 8.10.0.9 or later
  6. For InstantOS 8.11.x deployments: Upgrade to InstantOS 8.11.2.0 or later
  7. After upgrade, verify the device is running a non-vulnerable version using 'show version'
  8. If remote access is not required for PAPI (UDP port 8211), consider blocking UDP port 8211 at the network perimeter as an additional mitigation
Caveat Point releases typically have minimal breaking changes; review Aruba release notes for any configuration or feature changes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Arubaos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,330
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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-2023-45615 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
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data