Jailbreaking the Network Overseer: HPE Aruba AirWave Command Injection
Vulnerability ID: CVE-2025-37163
CVSS Score: 7.2
Published: 2025-11-18
A high-severity command injection vulnerability in the HPE Aruba Networking AirWave Management Platform allows authenticated administrators to escape the restricted Command Line Interface (CLI) and execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges on the underlying Linux OS. This transforms a network management role into a full system compromise.
TL;DR
Authenticated admins can use shell metacharacters in the AirWave CLI to break out of the restricted shell and execute commands as root. Fixed in version 8.3.0.5.
Technical Details
- CWE: CWE-77 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command)
- CVSS v3.1: 7.2 (High)
- Attack Vector: Network (Authenticated CLI)
- Privileges Required: High (Admin)
- Impact: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability (Total Compromise)
- Status: Patched (Vendor Update Available)
Affected Systems
- HPE Aruba Networking AirWave Management Platform (8.3.0.0 - 8.3.0.4)
-
AirWave Management Platform: 8.3.0.0 - 8.3.0.4 (Fixed in:
8.3.0.5)
Mitigation Strategies
- Input Sanitization
- Use of safe process execution APIs (execv, subprocess)
- Network Segmentation
- Principle of Least Privilege
Remediation Steps:
- Upgrade HPE Aruba AirWave to version 8.3.0.5 or later.
- Restrict CLI access to authorized personnel via VPN or Jump Host.
- Audit logs for suspicious command arguments containing shell operators.
References
Read the full report for CVE-2025-37163 on our website for more details including interactive diagrams and full exploit analysis.
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