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CVE Record

CVE-2018-0417: Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Software GUI Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

A vulnerability in TACACS authentication with Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform certain operations within the GUI that are not normally available to that user on the CLI. The vulnerability is due to incorrect parsing of a specific TACACS attribute received in the TACACS response from the remote TACACS server. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by authenticating via TACACS to the GUI on the affected device. A successful exploit could allow an attacker to create local user accounts with administrative privileges on an affected WLC and execute other commands that are not allowed from the CLI and should be prohibited.

HighCVSS 7.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

This flaw lets a low-privileged authenticated user on a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller potentially gain administrative control through the web GUI when TACACS authentication is used. The business risk is unauthorized control of wireless infrastructure, including creating admin accounts, but exploitation requires valid access and a specific TACACS-related condition. Relevant exposure is Cisco Wireless LAN Controller deployments using TACACS authentication for GUI access. The bundle does not provide affected release ranges or fixed versions, so teams must verify installed WLC software against Cisco’s advisory. Treat as high priority for wireless infrastructure using Cisco WLC with TACACS. It is not described as actively exploited, but successful misuse could give administrative control over wireless controllers. Mitigation focus: Check Cisco’s advisory for affected WLC releases and vendor remediation guidance.; Inventory Cisco WLC devices using TACACS authentication for GUI access.; Restrict WLC GUI management access to trusted administrative networks..

Prepared

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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Privilege behavior lookup

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CVE-2018-0417 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.5CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.65.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

7.5High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2018-0417Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
CiscoCisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)n/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

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CWE-264 · source CWE mapping

Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.