CVE-2018-0226
mediumpriority · track · 31EPSS 0.021 · 82 %ileEUUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-28
A vulnerability in the assignment and management of default user accounts for Secure Shell (SSH) access to Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points that are running Cisco Mobility Express Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain elevated privileges on an affected access point. The vulnerability exists because the Cisco Mobility Express controller of the affected software configures the default SSH user account for an access point to be the first SSH user account that was created for the Mobility Express controller, if an administrator added user accounts directly to the controller instead of using the default configuration or the SSH username creation wizard. Although the user account has read-only privileges for the Mobility Express controller, the account could have administrative privileges for an associated access point. An attacker who has valid user credentials for an affected controller could exploit this vulnerability by using the default SSH user account to authenticate to an affected access point via SSH. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the affected access point with administrative privileges and perform arbitrary administrative actions. This vulnerability affects the following Cisco products: Aironet 1800 Series Access Points that are running Cisco Mobility Express Software Releases 8.2.121.0 through 8.5.105.0, Aironet 2800 Series Access Points that are running Cisco Mobility Express Software Releases 8.3.102.0 through 8.5.105.0, Aironet 3800 Series Access Points that are running Cisco Mobility Express Software Releases 8.3.102.0 through 8.5.105.0. Cisco Bug IDs: CSCva68116.
remediations
Vendor fix, mitigation, or workaround guidance, as published by each source.
A vendor fix is available.
- FixedCisco Mobility Expresscisco_csaf
Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability.
https://software.cisco.com
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · medium–high · 6–7.5
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (4)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
- n/a Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points≤ Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Pointsenisa_euvdEU
- cisco mobility express software= 8.3(90.65)nvdUScpe:2.3:o:cisco:mobility_express_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cisco mobility express software= 8.4(1.65)nvdUScpe:2.3:o:cisco:mobility_express_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-sshCisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points Secure Shell Privilege Escalation Vulnerability2018-05-02csaf · cisco_csafUS
A vulnerability in the assignment and management of default user accounts for Secure Shell (SSH) access to Cisco Aironet 1800, 2800, and 3800 Series Access Points that are running Cisco Mobility Express Software could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to gain elevated privileges on an affected access point. The vulnerability exists because the Cisco Mobility Express controller of the affected software configures the default SSH user account for an access point to be the first SSH user account that was created for the Mobility Express controller, if an administrator added user accounts directly to the controller instead of using the default configuration or the SSH username creation wizard. Although the user account has read-only privileges for the Mobility Express controller, the account could have administrative privileges for an associated access point. An attacker who has valid user credentials for an affected controller could exploit this vulnerability by using the default SSH user account to authenticate to an affected access point via SSH. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to log in to the affected access point with administrative privileges and perform arbitrary administrative actions. Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability. This advisory is available at the following link: https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-ssh ["https://sec.cloudapps.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-ssh"]
also known as (3)
Other names and identifiers for this entity.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (9)
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040817cnnvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-sshcnnvd
- https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104124cnnvd
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104124enisa_euvd
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040817enisa_euvd
- https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20180502-aironet-sshenisa_euvd
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104124Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entrynvd
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040817Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entrynvd
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