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CVE Record

CVE-2023-35980: Unauthenticated Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities in Services Accessed by the PAPI Protocol

There are buffer overflow vulnerabilities in multiple underlying services that could lead to unauthenticated remote code execution by sending specially crafted packets destined to the PAPI (Aruba's access point management protocol) UDP port (8211). Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities result in the ability to execute arbitrary code as a privileged user on the underlying operating system.

CriticalCVSS 9.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw affects HPE Aruba access points running listed InstantOS and ArubaOS 10 versions. An unauthenticated attacker who can send crafted traffic to Aruba’s PAPI management port could potentially run code with high privileges on the device.

Executive priority

Treat this as urgent for Aruba wireless environments, especially if management-plane traffic is not tightly restricted. The impact is device takeover with privileged code execution, but evidence of active exploitation was not provided.

Technical view

CVE-2023-35980 is a set of buffer overflow vulnerabilities in services reachable through PAPI over UDP port 8211. The CVSS 3.1 score is 9.8 because exploitation is network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated, and can cause full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where affected Aruba access points have PAPI UDP/8211 reachable from untrusted networks. The source bundle does not state whether internet exposure is common or whether default configurations expose the port.

Exploitation context

The source bundle supports unauthenticated remote code execution potential, but it does not cite active exploitation. The CVE is not marked as CISA KEV in the provided data.

Researcher notes

The provided data identifies the protocol, port, affected product families, affected version ranges, and RCE impact. It does not provide exploit details, fixed version mapping, workaround specifics, or evidence of exploitation in the wild.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify Aruba APs running the listed affected InstantOS or ArubaOS 10 versions.
  • Review HPE Aruba advisory ARUBA-PSA-2023-009 for fixed releases and supported remediation.
  • Restrict UDP/8211 PAPI reachability to trusted management networks where operationally feasible.
  • Prioritize remediation for APs reachable from untrusted or shared network segments.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Aruba AP firmware versions and compare them to the affected version ranges.
  • Check whether UDP/8211 is reachable from untrusted network segments.
  • Confirm remediated devices no longer run affected listed versions.
  • Track the Aruba advisory and CVE record for updated vendor guidance.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
3

Public sources used

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

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

description · low confidence lookup

Execution behavior lookup

The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2023-35980 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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
9.8CVSS 3.1CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

9.8Critical
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2023-35980Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)Aruba Access Points running InstantOS and ArubaOS 10ArubaOS 10.4.x.x: 10.4.0.1 and below, InstantOS 8.11.x.x: 8.11.1.0 and below, InstantOS 8.10.x.x: 8.10.0.6 and below, InstantOS 8.6.x.x: 8.6.0.20 and below, InstantOS 6.5.x.x: 6.5.4.24 and below, InstantOS 6.4.x.x: 6.4.4.8-4.2.4.21 and belowaffected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.