# CVE-2019-1654: Cisco Aironet Series Access Points Development Shell Access Vulnerability

> An authenticated local attacker can bypass development shell authentication to gain root access on Cisco Aironet Access Points.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Apr 2019
- **Updated:** 20 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7r57-xw66-r525

## What is CVE-2019-1654?

CVE-2019-1654 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Aironet Access Point Software, published on 17 Apr 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the development shell (devshell) authentication for Cisco Aironet Series Access Points (APs) running the Cisco AP-COS operating system could allow an authenticated, local attacker to access the development shell without proper authentication, which allows for root access to the underlying Linux OS. The attacker would need valid device credentials. The vulnerability exists because the software improperly validates user-supplied input at the CLI authentication prompt for development shell access. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating to the device and entering crafted input at the CLI. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to access the AP development shell without proper authentication, which allows for root access to the underlying Linux OS. Software versions prior to 8.3.150.0, 8.5.135.0, and 8.8.100.0 are affected.

Weakness: CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality), CWE-255

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-1654?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Cisco Ap-Cos.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-1654?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-1654 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-1654 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-1654 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-1654 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-1654 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Cisco Aironet Access Point Software, published on 17 Apr 2019. 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-2019-1654 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Cisco Aironet Access Point Software. 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-2019-1654/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1654/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-1654
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-1654
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-1654

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1654/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.