CVE-2018-0249: A vulnerability when handling incoming 802.11 Association Requests for Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Point (APs) on Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) based ha...

Description

A vulnerability when handling incoming 802.11 Association Requests for Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Point (APs) on Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) based hardware platforms could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected system. A successful exploit could prevent new clients from joining the AP. The vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of malformed or invalid 802.11 Association Requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed stream of 802.11 Association Requests to the local interface of the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a DoS situation on an affected system, causing new client 802.11 Association Requests to fail. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products: Aironet 1560 Series Access Points, Aironet 1810 Series OfficeExtend Access Points, Aironet 1810w Series Access Points, Aironet 1815 Series Access Points, Aironet 1830 Series Access Points, Aironet 1850 Series Access Points, Aironet 2800 Series Access Points, Aironet 3800 Series Access Points. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg02116.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

4.3/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

EPSS Probability

0.60%

44.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-20

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions
Cisco	Aironet Access Point Software	8.2\(161.0\)

References

http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040816Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-dosVendor Advisory
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040816Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-dosVendor Advisory

Timeline

Published: May 2, 2018
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Modified

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-0249?

A vulnerability when handling incoming 802.11 Association Requests for Cisco Aironet 1800 Series Access Point (APs) on Qualcomm Atheros (QCA) based hardware platforms could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected system. A successful exploit could prevent new clients from joining the AP. The vulnerability is due to incorrect handling of malformed or invalid 802.11 Association Requests. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed stream of 802.11 Association Requests to the local interface of the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a DoS situation on an affected system, causing new client 802.11 Association Requests to fail. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products: Aironet 1560 Series Access Points, Aironet 1810 Series OfficeExtend Access Points, Aironet 1810w Series Access Points, Aironet 1815 Series Access Points, Aironet 1830 Series Access Points, Aironet 1850 Series Access Points, Aironet 2800 Series Access Points, Aironet 3800 Series Access Points. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCvg02116.

How severe is CVE-2018-0249?

CVE-2018-0249 has a CVSS score of 4.3/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.60% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2018-0249?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.