# CVE-2017-3873: Code injection in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points

> An adjacent attacker can execute arbitrary code with root privileges on Cisco Aironet access points during initial boot or factory reset via malicious PnP responses.

- **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:** 16 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-28h8-6qf2-j7rh

## What is CVE-2017-3873?

CVE-2017-3873 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points, published on 16 May 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 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.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-3873?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Aironet Access Point Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-3873?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-3873 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-3873 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-3873 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points

- [CVE-2017-3834](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3834/): Hardcoded credentials in Cisco Aironet 1830 Series and 1850 Series Access Points (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-1834](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1834/): Cisco Aironet Series Access Points Denial of Service Vulnerability (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2019-1826](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1826/): Cisco Aironet Series Access Points Quality of Service Denial of Service Vulnerability (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2019-1829](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1829/): Cisco Aironet Series Access Points Command Injection Vulnerability (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2019-1835](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1835/): Cisco Aironet Series Access Points Directory Traversal Vulnerability (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-3873 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-3873 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points, published on 16 May 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-2017-3873 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-2017-3873/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3873/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-3873
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-3873
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-3873

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-3873/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.