CVE-2017-12274 in Aironet
Summary
by MITRE
A vulnerability in Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) ingress frame processing for the Cisco Aironet 1560, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points could allow an unauthenticated, Layer 2 radio frequency (RF) adjacent attacker to cause the Access Point (AP) to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of the EAP frame. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed EAP frame to the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the AP to reload, resulting in a DoS condition while the AP is reloading. It may be necessary to manually power cycle the device in order for it to recover. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products running either the Lightweight AP Software or Mobility Express image: Aironet 1560 Series Access Points, Aironet 2800 Series Access Points, Aironet 3800 Series Access Points. Note: The Cisco Aironet 1560 Series Access Point device is supported as of release 8.3.112.0. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCve18935.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/21/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-12274 represents a critical denial of service weakness within Cisco's wireless access point infrastructure, specifically affecting the Aironet 1560, 2800, and 3800 series devices. This flaw resides in the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) ingress frame processing mechanism, which serves as a fundamental component for wireless network authentication and security. The vulnerability operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by attackers positioned within the radio frequency coverage area of the targeted access point, requiring no prior authentication credentials. The security implications extend beyond simple service disruption, as this weakness fundamentally compromises the reliability and availability of wireless network infrastructure that organizations depend upon for critical operations.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the EAP frame processing pipeline of affected Cisco access points. When an access point receives an EAP frame, it should perform rigorous validation checks to ensure the frame conforms to expected protocols and structures before processing. However, the Cisco Aironet devices fail to properly validate the EAP frame contents, allowing malformed or maliciously constructed frames to bypass normal processing safeguards. This insufficient validation creates a condition where crafted EAP frames can trigger unexpected behavior within the device's processing engine. The vulnerability manifests as a complete system reload cycle, effectively causing the access point to restart its operational state, which results in temporary network disruption for all devices connected to that access point.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant threat to wireless network availability and business continuity. An attacker positioned within RF range of a targeted access point can exploit this weakness with minimal technical expertise, requiring only the ability to transmit wireless frames to the affected device. The DoS condition persists until the access point completes its reload process, which may require manual intervention in some cases, including physical power cycling of the device. This vulnerability affects organizations that rely heavily on wireless infrastructure for operations, including healthcare facilities, financial institutions, and enterprise networks where wireless connectivity is mission-critical. The impact extends beyond simple network disruption as the time required to restore service can vary from minutes to hours depending on the recovery process and manual intervention requirements.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-129, which addresses "Improper Validation of Input" in security contexts, and demonstrates the critical importance of robust input validation in network infrastructure devices. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to the T1499.004 technique related to "Cloud Service Destruction" and T1498.001 "Network Denial of Service" within the Defense Evasion and Impact domains respectively. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to isolate wireless access points, deployment of intrusion detection systems to monitor for anomalous EAP frame patterns, and application of Cisco's security patches addressing the identified vulnerability. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing wireless access point monitoring solutions that can detect and alert on unusual reload patterns, as well as maintaining comprehensive incident response procedures that account for potential wireless infrastructure DoS attacks. The vulnerability underscores the necessity of regular security assessments and patch management processes for wireless network infrastructure to prevent exploitation of similar weaknesses in the future.