# CVE-2021-26969: XML external entity in Aruba AirWave Management Platform

> An authenticated attacker can exploit an XML External Entity vulnerability in Aruba AirWave to read local files or cause a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Mar 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-86m6-g2f9-mwm6

## What is CVE-2021-26969?

CVE-2021-26969 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Aruba AirWave Management Platform, published on 5 Mar 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A remote authenticated authenticated xml external entity (xxe) vulnerability was discovered in Aruba AirWave Management Platform version(s): Prior to 8.2.12.0. Due to improper restrictions on XML entities a vulnerability exists in the web-based management interface of AirWave. A successful exploit could allow an authenticated attacker to retrieve files from the local system or cause the application to consume system resources, resulting in a denial of service condition.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-26969?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Arubanetworks Airwave.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-26969?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-26969 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-26969 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-26969 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Aruba AirWave Management Platform

- [CVE-2016-2031](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2031/): Other in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2014-8368](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-8368/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2021-25166](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25166/): Command injection in Aruba AirWave Management Platform (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-25167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25167/): Command injection in Aruba AirWave Management Platform (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-25151](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25151/): Deserialization in Aruba AirWave Management Platform (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-26969 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-26969 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Aruba AirWave Management Platform, published on 5 Mar 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-26969 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Aruba AirWave Management Platform. 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-2021-26969/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-26969/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-26969
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-26969
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-26969

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-26969/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.