# CVE-2017-12281: Auth bypass in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points

> An adjacent attacker can bypass authentication and connect to Cisco Aironet Access Points due to a fail-open default configuration in PEAP standalone mode.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 2 Nov 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q497-x3rm-48vr

## What is CVE-2017-12281?

CVE-2017-12281 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points, published on 2 Nov 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the implementation of Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) functionality for standalone configurations of Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to bypass authentication and connect to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected device uses an incorrect default configuration setting of fail open when running in standalone mode. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by attempting to connect to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to bypass authentication and connect to the affected device. This vulnerability affects Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points that are running a vulnerable software release and use WLAN configuration settings that include FlexConnect local switching and central authentication with MAC filtering. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvd46314.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-12281?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Cisco Aironet 1800 Firmware, Cisco Aironet 2800 Firmware, Cisco Aironet 3800 Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-12281?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-12281 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-12281 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-12281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-12281 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-12281 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points, published on 2 Nov 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-12281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points. 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-2017-12281/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12281/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-12281
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12281
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-12281

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12281/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.