HPE ArubaOS 8: Authentication bypass in SSH daemon
Summary
The SSH daemon of HPE ArubaOS 8 (AOS-8), the wireless operating system for Mobility Conductors, Mobility Controllers, Mobility Gateways and access points, contains an authentication bypass. An unauthenticated remote attacker who can reach the SSH service can circumvent the login and gain administrative privileges, which may lead to full compromise of the AOS-8 host. The CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical). Exploitation is considered automatable by CISA SSVC.
Affected
- AOS-8 8.13.0.0 to 8.13.3.0 (per CVE record; earlier branches unknown)
- AOS-8 8.10.0.0 to 8.10.0.23 (per CVE record; earlier branches unknown)
- Note: versions to be verified against HPE advisory HPESBNW05162 rev.1
Fixed in
- AOS-8.13.3.1 (per secondary reporting, verify with HPE)
- AOS-8.10.0.24 (per secondary reporting, verify with HPE)
- Fixed versions for other AOS-8 branches: Unknown.
Workaround
- No specific workaround known.
- Interim measure: restrict SSH and management access to trusted administration networks only.
Exploitation
- No evidence of exploitation found at the time of research.
- Not listed in CISA KEV according to one source.
- No public proof of concept found; absence of evidence is not proof.
Our recommendation
- Check whether AOS-8 Mobility Conductors, Controllers, Gateways or access points are deployed and whether their SSH service is reachable from untrusted networks.
- Restrict SSH and management access to trusted administration networks now.
- Apply the updates from HPE advisory HPESBNW05162 as a whole, not only for this CVE, after verifying the fixed versions in the advisory.
- Monitor for exploitation activity and unexpected administrative logins.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- HPE Security Bulletin HPESBNW05162 support.hpe.com
- HPE Networking Support Portal Security Notifications networkingsupport.hpe.com
- CyberSecurityNews: HPE warns of Aruba Networking flaws cybersecuritynews.com
- Rescana: HPE Aruba AOS CVE-2026-79844 critical www.rescana.com
- Strix AI: CVE-2026-79855 www.strix.ai
- CCB Belgium advisory: multiple critical HPE Networking AOS vulnerabilities ccb.belgium.be
- Aviatrix: HPE patches AOS flaws 2026 aviatrix.ai
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 30 Oct 2026, 17:00.
Original description (NVD)
An authentication bypass vulnerability in the SSH daemon of AOS-8 allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to circumvent existing authentication controls. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to gain administrative privileges leading to complete compromise of the AOS-8 host.
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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