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CriticalVulnerabilityCVE-2026-79860updated 25 Oct 2026, 16:50 UTC

Aruba AOS-8 controllers can be taken over remotely via crafted network packets

Attackers can send specially crafted network packets to certain Aruba AOS-8 network controllers and run their own code on them, without needing a password. Anyone who controls the device could then see or change network traffic.

Official, 2 sources
SeverityCriticalCVSS 9.8 of 10
Being exploited?UnclearNo reports either way yet
Fix available?UnclearNo fixed version published in the sources yet
How sure is this?Official, 2 sourcesBacked by an official source

How the attack works simplified

  1. 1Attacker sends packetsCrafted packets sent to UDP port 8211
  2. 2PAPI service receivesUnderlying service mishandles oversized input
  3. 3Buffer overflow occursMemory overwritten without authentication
  4. 4Arbitrary code runsCode executes with privileged rights
  5. ResultAttacker controls the controller

What happened

A buffer overflow in an underlying service of Aruba AOS-8 handles malformed packets sent to the PAPI access point management protocol on UDP port 8211, allowing unauthenticated remote code execution as a privileged user on the operating system.

Why it is dangerous: Successful exploitation gives an unauthenticated attacker privileged control of the controller, which manages wireless access points, so the whole wireless network segment it serves is at risk.

Are you affected?

You are affected if your Aruba AOS-8 controllers accept traffic on UDP port 8211 (PAPI) from networks an attacker can reach.

Aruba AOS-8 (specific versions not stated in the provided material)

What to do

  1. Identify all AOS-8 controllers and check them against the vendor advisory for affected and fixed versions
  2. Apply the vendor's patched AOS-8 release as soon as it is available for your version
  3. Restrict access to UDP port 8211 so only trusted access points and management hosts can reach it
  4. Monitor for unexpected traffic or behavior on AOS-8 controllers

Timeline

  1. 22 Oct 2026, 19:17 UTC
    Publicly disclosed
  2. 22 Oct 2026, 19:17 UTC
    Reported by NVD · NVD
  3. 25 Oct 2026, 16:50 UTC
    GitHub Advisory reported on it · GitHub Advisory

Sources 2 reports, oldest first

Official vendor, government CERT or advisory database

Technical details

ID
CVE-2026-79860 · GHSA-hrxh-pm8h-2j3h
CVSS
9.8 / 10
EPSS
0.7% chance of exploitation within 30 days
Disclosed
22 Oct 2026, 19:17 UTC
On Zero Radar
before the radar started
Last change
25 Oct 2026, 16:50 UTC

The plain-language parts and the attack diagram were written by an AI model (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5) from the sources above. Facts like versions, exploitation and dates come from the sources themselves. How Zero Radar works

Aruba AOS-8 controllers can be taken over remotely via crafted network packets · Zero Radar