A vulnerability in the Plug-and-Play (PnP) subsystem of the Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points running a Lightweight Access Point (AP) or Mobility Express image could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of PnP server responses. The PnP feature is only active while the device does not contain a configuration, such as a first time boot or after a factory reset has been issued. An attacker with the ability to respond to PnP configuration requests from the affected device can exploit the vulnerability by returning malicious PnP responses. If a Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller - Enterprise Module (APIC-EM) is available on the network, the attacker would need to exploit the issue in the short window before a valid PnP response was received. If successful, the attacker could gain the ability to execute arbitrary code with root privileges on the underlying operating system of the device. Cisco has confirmed that the only vulnerable software version is 8.3.102.0. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvb42386.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, indicating it requires adjacent network access but requires specific conditions to be met without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 10 products from cisco, from cisco, from cisco and 7 others, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
First disclosed in 2017, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.
2017-05-16T17:29:00.213
2025-04-20T01:37:25.860
Deferred
CVSSv3.0: 7.5 (HIGH)
AV:A/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
5.5
10.0
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | cisco | aironet_access_point_firmware | 8.3_102.0 | Yes |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_1830e | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_1830i | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_1850e | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_1850i | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_2800e | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_2800i | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_3800e | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_3800i | - | No |
| Hardware | cisco | aironet_3800p | - | No |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.