CVE-2021-41004 – A remote vulnerability in Aruba Instant On 1930... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2021-41004?

CVE-2021-41004 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). A remote vulnerability in Aruba Instant On 1930 Switch Series allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This affects organizations using these switches with firmware versions below v1.0.7.0.

📋 TL;DR

A remote vulnerability in Aruba Instant On 1930 Switch Series allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service. This affects organizations using these switches with firmware versions below v1.0.7.0.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switch Series

Versions: Firmware versions below v1.0.7.0

Operating Systems: Switch firmware

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All deployments with affected firmware versions are vulnerable regardless of configuration.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise allowing attacker to take control of the switch, intercept network traffic, or pivot to other network segments.

🟠

Likely Case

Denial of service causing network disruption or unauthorized access to switch configuration.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if network segmentation and access controls prevent external access to management interfaces.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH if management interfaces are exposed to the internet without proper controls.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM as attackers could exploit from compromised internal systems.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

The vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication, making it relatively easy to exploit.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: v1.0.7.0 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbnw04270en_us

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download firmware v1.0.7.0 or later from HPE/Aruba support portal. 2. Log into switch management interface. 3. Navigate to firmware update section. 4. Upload and apply the new firmware. 5. Reboot the switch to complete installation.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Segmentation

all

Isolate switch management interfaces from untrusted networks

Access Control Lists

all

Restrict access to switch management interfaces to trusted IP addresses only

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict network segmentation to isolate switches from untrusted networks
Deploy intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check firmware version in switch web interface or via CLI using 'show version' command

Check Version:

show version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify firmware version is v1.0.7.0 or higher after update

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unauthorized access attempts to switch management interfaces
Unexpected configuration changes
Abnormal traffic patterns

Network Indicators:

Unusual traffic to switch management ports (typically 80/443)
Multiple failed authentication attempts

SIEM Query:

source_ip="switch_management_ip" AND (event_type="authentication_failure" OR event_type="configuration_change")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2021-41004

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Published: April 12, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbnw04270en_us Mitigation,Vendor Advisory
https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-hpesbnw04270en_us Mitigation,Vendor Advisory

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