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CriticalVulnerabilityCVE-2026-79870updated 25 Oct 2026, 16:50 UTC

Aruba AOS-8 network controllers can be bypassed to gain admin access

An attacker on the same local network can skip the login check on certain Aruba AOS-8 network devices and take control of them without a password. From there they could change settings or reach sensitive data.

Official, 2 sources
SeverityCriticalCVSS 9.6 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 on networkMust be on the same local network segment
  2. 2Sends PAPI requestTargets the AOS-8 protocol
  3. 3Login check skippedAuthentication controls are circumvented
  4. 4Admin access gainedAttacker gets administrative control
  5. ResultAttacker controls the network controller

What happened

An authentication bypass in the PAPI protocol of Aruba AOS-8 allows an unauthenticated adjacent attacker to circumvent authentication controls.

Why it is dangerous: A successful attacker could gain administrative access, change system configurations, access or manipulate sensitive data, and disrupt network operations, affecting everyone who relies on the network.

Are you affected?

You are affected if you run Aruba AOS-8 devices with the PAPI protocol reachable from a network segment an attacker could access.

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

What to do

  1. Check the Aruba advisory or vendor portal for the patched AOS-8 version and update to it
  2. Restrict network access to the PAPI protocol so only trusted management hosts can reach it
  3. Monitor controller logs for unexpected administrative logins or configuration changes

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-2026-79870 · GHSA-2p2m-5xqj-g37g
CVSS
9.6 / 10
EPSS
0.3% 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 network controllers can be bypassed to gain admin access · Zero Radar