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ArubaosOperating system · Arubanetworks

CVE-2023-45621

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Unauthenticated Denial-of-Service (DoS) vulnerabilities exist in the CLI service accessed via the PAPI protocol. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities result in the ability to interrupt the normal operation of the affected access point.

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 confidence

This is an unauthenticated Denial-of-Service vulnerability affecting the CLI service exposed via the PAPI (Protocol API) protocol on network access points. An attacker can send specially crafted packets to the PAPI service to crash or hang the CLI service, causing the access point to become unresponsive or require a reboot.

MitigationRestrict network access to the PAPI/CLI service using firewalls or ACLs, and apply vendor firmware updates when available. If PAPI is not required, disable the 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
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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the firmware version
    Execute 'show version' on the CLI or check the WebUI dashboard for the ArubaOS or InstantOS version number
    Affected if The version falls within >= 10.3.0.0, < 10.4.0.3; = 10.5.0.0 for ArubaOS or >= 6.4.0.0, < 8.6.0.23; >= 8.10.0.0, < 8.10.0.9; >= 8.11.0.0, < 8.11.2.0 for InstantOS
  2. Verify PAPI service status
    Run 'show papi status' or check the CLI configuration for PAPI (Protocol API) service settings. The service typically listens on UDP port 8211
    Affected if PAPI/CLI service is enabled and running on the device
  3. Check network exposure of UDP port 8211
    Review firewall rules, ACLs, or VLAN configuration to determine if UDP port 8211 (PAPI) is reachable from untrusted or external networks. Use 'show ip interface' and review any access-list configurations applied to the management or data interfaces
    Affected if UDP port 8211 is accessible from untrusted network segments or the internet

You are affected if your device runs a vulnerable ArubaOS or InstantOS version, the PAPI service is enabled, and UDP port 8211 is reachable from an attacker-controlled network segment.

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

Restrict network access to the PAPI/CLI service using firewalls or ACLs, and apply vendor firmware updates when available. If PAPI is not required, disable the service.

Recommended fix High confidence

ArubaOS: 10.4.0.3+ or 10.5.0.1+; InstantOS: 8.6.0.23+, 8.10.0.9+, or 8.11.2.0+

  1. Identify the currently installed ArubaOS or InstantOS version using 'show version' command
  2. For ArubaOS 10.3.x.x - 10.4.x: Upgrade to version 10.4.0.3 or later
  3. For ArubaOS 10.5.0.0: Upgrade to version 10.5.0.1 or later (the next available patch)
  4. For InstantOS 6.4.x.x - 8.6.x: Upgrade to version 8.6.0.23 or later
  5. For InstantOS 8.10.x.x: Upgrade to version 8.10.0.9 or later
  6. For InstantOS 8.11.x.x: Upgrade to version 8.11.2.0 or later
  7. Upgrade via Aruba's management interface or CLI using 'upgrade-software' command
  8. After upgrade, verify the new version is installed with 'show version'
Caveat Minor: Review Aruba release notes for any compatibility considerations before upgrading

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

Fix this in Arubaos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2023-45621 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