# CVE-2016-8527: Cross-site scripting in Aruba AirWave

> Reflected XSS in Aruba AirWave allows attackers to steal session cookies or passwords from logged-in administrators via malicious links.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 6 Aug 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8488-4hwv-3vc5

## What is CVE-2016-8527?

CVE-2016-8527 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba AirWave, published on 6 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Aruba Airwave all versions up to, but not including, 8.2.3.1 is vulnerable to a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS). The vulnerability is present in the VisualRF component of AirWave. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker who can trick a logged-in AirWave administrative user into clicking a link could obtain sensitive information, such as session cookies or passwords. The vulnerability requires that an administrative users click on the malicious link while currently logged into AirWave in the same browser.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-8527?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Hp Airwave.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-8527?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-8527 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-8527 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-8527 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Aruba AirWave 8.2.3 - XML External Entity Injection / Cross-Site Scripting (exploitdb)
- Aruba Airwave <8.2.3.1 - Cross-Site Scripting (nuclei): http/cves/2016/CVE-2016-8527.yaml

## Other vulnerabilities in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba AirWave

- [CVE-2015-1391](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1391/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-8526](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8526/): XML external entity in Aruba AirWave (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2015-1390](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1390/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-8527 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-8527 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba AirWave, published on 6 Aug 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-8527 exists.

Affected product: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Aruba AirWave. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8527/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8527/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-8527
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8527
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-8527

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8527/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.