CVE-2018-0417 [High] | Privilege Escalation in Wireless Lan Controller S…

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.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.47%	3.16%	+2.70%
2	2025-11-21	1.54%	0.47%	-1.08%
3	2025-11-18	—	1.54%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.47%

3.16%

+2.70%

2025-11-21

1.54%

0.47%

-1.08%

2025-11-18

—

1.54%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
7.5	3.0	HIGH	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.6	5.9	[email protected]
4.6	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:L) Requires local access to the target system. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:P) Partial confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	3.9	6.4	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

7.5

3.0

HIGH

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

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.6

5.9

[email protected]

4.6

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:L): Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P): Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

3.9

6.4

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-0417

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
cisco	wireless_lan_controller_software	8.7\(1.115\)	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software:8.7\(1.115\):::::::*
cisco	wireless_lan_controller	>= 8.4, < 8.5.131.0	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:wireless_lan_controller::::::::
cisco	wireless_lan_controller_software	< 8.2.170.0	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software::::::::
cisco	wireless_lan_controller_software	>= 8.6, < 8.7.102.0	cpe:2.3:o:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software::::::::

References for CVE-2018-0417

URL	Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105667	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041924	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20181017-wlc-gui-privesc	Vendor Advisory

URL

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-0417

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-0417

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-0417

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-0417

References for CVE-2018-0417