Description

A vulnerability has been identified in the API endpoint of AOS-CX that could allow a remote actor to circumvent existing access controls. In some cases this could enable unauthorized access to management functionality that should be restricted by the configured access control policy.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "6.6",
  "pubDate": "2026-09-01T21:18:42.963Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-09-01T21:18:42.963Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A vulnerability exists in the AOS-CX API endpoint architecture that facilitates the circumvention of established access control policies. This flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated or unauthorized actor to bypass security enforcement mechanisms intended to restrict access to sensitive management functionality.\nThe vulnerability is classified as an improper access control issue. Successful exploitation permits unauthorized entities to interact with administrative API functions that should be protected by the configured security policy. This poses a significant risk to the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of the network device management plane.\nThe impact includes potential unauthorized configuration changes, retrieval of sensitive system data, and broader management plane compromise. The vulnerability is triggered by sending specially crafted requests to the affected API endpoints, which fail to properly validate or enforce existing authorization constraints before processing the requested action. No specific interaction is required from a legitimate administrator, as the flaw resides within the API request handling logic of the device firmware. Organizations utilizing affected AOS-CX versions are at risk of remote exploitation if the management interface is exposed to untrusted network segments.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability resides within the request processing lifecycle of the AOS-CX API framework. The root cause is an improper implementation of authorization checks at the API entry point, which fails to consistently apply or verify the defined Access Control List (ACL) or role-based access control (RBAC) policies against the incoming request context.\nDuring the standard request-response cycle, the AOS-CX management interface is expected to authenticate the user session and validate the request against the configured authorization policies. In this vulnerable state, the API endpoint fails to strictly validate the session state or the mapping of the user's privilege level to the requested management method. This allows a remote actor to craft HTTP requests that bypass the middleware responsible for enforcing access constraints.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, the attacker identifies a reachable AOS-CX management API endpoint. Second, the attacker constructs a payload targeting specific management functions that are otherwise restricted by the device's security policy. Third, by omitting or manipulating specific authentication headers or exploiting the flawed routing logic within the API handler, the attacker successfully triggers the backend execution of the requested management function. Because the security gatekeepers in the API layer are bypassed, the system processes the request as if it originated from a privileged or authorized source.\nThis behavior indicates a flaw in the request validation logic where the API endpoint fails to maintain an immutable security context for the duration of the request processing. The vulnerability is not limited to a single endpoint but affects the broader API framework, potentially allowing access to critical management primitives, including those involved in configuration management, status retrieval, and system diagnostic operations.\nThe exploitation does not necessarily require valid administrative credentials, depending on whether the bypass mechanism allows for the total omission of the authentication handshake or the elevation of an unprivileged session to an authorized state. The impact post-exploitation is severe, as the attacker effectively operates with the privileges afforded to the API backend, enabling persistent configuration changes or the extraction of sensitive environment data stored on the switch."
}