HPE Switches Suffer Critical Password Flaw
CriticalExecutive Summary
A critical vulnerability, identified as CVE-2026-23813, has been discovered in the web-based management interface of HPE Aruba Networking AOS-CX switches.
This flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to bypass authentication and potentially reset administrator passwords, leading to a full system compromise.
HPE has released patches to address this vulnerability, which is currently not known to be actively exploited in the wild.
Vulnerability Details
- Affected Product: HPE Aruba Networking AOS-CX, versions 10.17.0001 and below, 10.16.1020 and below, 10.13.1160 and below, and 10.10.1170 and below
- Identifier: CVE-2026-23813
- CVSS Score: 9.8 (Critical)
- Exploitation Status: Not Actively Exploited
Risk & Impact
- Triage: Immediate action is required due to the critical severity and the potential for complete system takeover.
- Attack Vector: An unauthenticated attacker can remotely exploit this vulnerability over the network via the web-based management interface without any user interaction. Successful exploitation could allow full control of the network device, enabling the disruption of network communications or compromise of the entire system.
- Ease of Exploit: The attack complexity is considered low.
Action Plan
- Immediate Action: Upgrade to a patched version of AOS-CX: 10.17.1001, 10.16.1030, 10.13.1161, or 10.10.1180 and later.
- Workaround: Restrict access to all management interfaces to a dedicated and isolated Layer 2 segment or VLAN. Implement strict Layer 3 firewall policies to only allow trusted hosts, and disable HTTP(S) interfaces where not essential.
- Detection: Enable comprehensive logging and monitoring of all management interface activities to detect and respond to unauthorized access attempts.
Relevant professional terms
- Authentication Bypass
- A type of vulnerability that allows an attacker to circumvent security controls and access protected resources or functions without providing valid credentials.
- Attack Vector
- The path or means by which an attacker can gain access to a computer or network server in order to deliver a payload or malicious outcome. In this case, it is the network, via the web-based management interface.
Source: SecurityWeek
