Command InjectionWeakness · CWE-77

CVE-2024-42509

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-05
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
Command injection vulnerability in the underlying CLI service 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

Command injection vulnerability in Aruba's Access Point CLI service allows unauthenticated attackers to achieve remote code execution by sending specially crafted packets to the PAPI UDP port (8211). The vulnerability enables execution of arbitrary code with privileged (root) user permissions on the underlying operating system.

MitigationRestrict network access to UDP port 8211 from untrusted sources, apply vendor firmware patches when available, and implement network segmentation to limit exposure of the PAPI service.

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. Identify the device as an Aruba Access Point
    Check system identification: `show version` or `show system info` in CLI, or check the device model/hardware label for Aruba AP model numbers (such as AP-xxx, Instant AP, or ArubaOS version)
    Affected if The device is not an Aruba Access Point (this CVE only affects Aruba APs)
  2. Verify the PAPI UDP service is running
    Check if UDP port 8211 is listening: `netstat -anu | grep 8211` or `show port status` in Aruba CLI, or use `nmap -sU -p 8211 <localhost>`
    Affected if The PAPI service on UDP port 8211 is exposed and running
  3. Determine the installed firmware version
    Run `show version` in the Aruba AP CLI and note the ArubaOS version string; compare against any vendor-released patch versions after the CVE disclosure date
    Affected if The firmware version is older than the patched version released by Aruba for this CVE
  4. Check if PAPI service is accessible from untrusted networks
    From an external host, test UDP port 8211 reachability: `nmap -sU -p 8211 <AP-IP>` or verify firewall/ACL rules allow UDP 8211 from non-management networks
    Affected if UDP port 8211 is reachable from untrusted/southbound networks or the internet
  5. Confirm the device has not been patched for this vulnerability
    Review vendor security advisories for CVE-2024-42509 and verify if the installed ArubaOS version includes the fix; check release notes for security patches after the CVE publication date
    Affected if No security patch for CVE-2024-42509 has been applied to the installed ArubaOS version

A user is affected if they have an Aruba Access Point with the PAPI UDP service (port 8211) exposed, running a firmware version prior to the vendor patch for CVE-2024-42509.

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

Restrict network access to UDP port 8211 from untrusted sources, apply vendor firmware patches when available, and implement network segmentation to limit exposure of the PAPI service.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-42509 — 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-2024-42509 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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