Stack-based Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-121

CVE-2024-26305

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the underlying Utility daemon 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 this vulnerability results 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

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Aruba's Utility daemon that handles PAPI (Access Point Management Protocol) traffic on UDP port 8211. Successful exploitation allows unauthenticated attackers to send specially crafted packets and execute arbitrary code with privileged (root/system) permissions on the affected system.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided security patch for CVE-2024-26305. As an interim control, restrict network access to UDP port 8211 via firewall rules or network segmentation to prevent unauthorized PAPI traffic from untrusted sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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. Verify if the PAPI service is listening on UDP port 8211
    Run 'netstat -uan | grep 8211' or 'ss -uan | grep 8211' to check if UDP port 8211 is open and listening. Alternatively, use a port scanner like 'nmap -sU -p 8211 <localhost>'
    Affected if UDP port 8211 is open and bound to a service indicates the PAPI daemon is active and potentially vulnerable
  2. Identify the installed Aruba product and firmware version
    Consult your Aruba device's web UI, CLI (show version), or management system to obtain the exact firmware or software version running on the system
    Affected if The installed version falls within the affected but unpatched version range for CVE-2024-26305 (compare against vendor release notes)
  3. Confirm network accessibility of UDP port 8211
    Review firewall rules, ACLs, or network segmentation settings to determine if UDP port 8211 is reachable from untrusted or external network segments. Use 'iptables -L' or equivalent to list rules
    Affected if UDP port 8211 is exposed to untrusted networks or allows traffic from unauthorized sources
  4. Check for indicators of compromise or anomalous PAPI traffic
    Review network logs, IDS/IPS alerts, and system logs for unusual UDP 8211 traffic patterns, unexpected processes, or evidence of exploitation attempts targeting the PAPI service
    Affected if Logs show suspicious or unauthorized PAPI packets, unexpected code execution, or privilege escalation indicators linked to the utility daemon

The system is affected if the Aruba PAPI service is running on UDP 8211, the installed version is unpatched for CVE-2024-26305, and the port is accessible from untrusted network sources.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided security patch for CVE-2024-26305. As an interim control, restrict network access to UDP port 8211 via firewall rules or network segmentation to prevent unauthorized PAPI traffic from untrusted sources.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-26305 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-26305 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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