CVE-2023-45620
📋 TL;DR
Unauthenticated attackers can cause denial-of-service conditions in Aruba access points by exploiting vulnerabilities in the CLI service accessed via PAPI protocol. This affects Aruba access points with vulnerable firmware versions, potentially disrupting wireless network availability for organizations using these devices.
💻 Affected Systems
- Aruba Access Points
📦 What is this software?
Arubaos by Arubanetworks
Arubaos by Arubanetworks
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete disruption of wireless network services across all affected access points, causing business operations to halt for organizations relying on wireless connectivity.
Likely Case
Intermittent service interruptions affecting specific access points, leading to degraded wireless performance and user connectivity issues.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact if access points are properly segmented and PAPI protocol access is restricted to trusted management networks only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Unauthenticated exploitation via network requests to the PAPI protocol interface. Attackers need network access to the vulnerable service.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Refer to Aruba advisory ARUBA-PSA-2023-017 for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/alert/ARUBA-PSA-2023-017.txt
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review Aruba advisory ARUBA-PSA-2023-017. 2. Identify affected firmware versions. 3. Download and apply the recommended firmware update from Aruba support portal. 4. Reboot affected access points after patching.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict PAPI Protocol Access
allLimit network access to the PAPI protocol service using firewall rules or network segmentation
Disable Unnecessary CLI Services
allDisable CLI service via PAPI protocol if not required for operations
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate access points from untrusted networks
- Deploy intrusion prevention systems (IPS) with rules to detect and block PAPI protocol exploitation attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check firmware version against vulnerable versions listed in Aruba advisory ARUBA-PSA-2023-017Check Version:
show version (on Aruba access point CLI)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify firmware version has been updated to patched version specified in the advisory📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual PAPI protocol traffic patterns
- Access point service restarts or crashes
- Increased error rates in CLI service logs
Network Indicators:
- Abnormal PAPI protocol traffic to access points
- Multiple connection attempts to CLI service ports
SIEM Query:
source="aruba_ap" AND (event_type="service_crash" OR protocol="PAPI" AND abnormal_traffic=true)