Cisco fixes critical flaw in affecting Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) access points
Take action: If you are running Cisco heavy duty/rugged access points, check them whether they have active URWB Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul mode. If they do, start patching IMMEDIATELY, or upgrading the versions to a fixed release of operating system. Alternatively, shut them down. This is a very serious threat, and attacks will happen very quickly.
Learn More
Cisco has resolved a critical security vulnerability in its Unified Industrial Wireless Software affecting Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) access points.
Tracked as CVE-2024-20418 (CVSS score 10), the flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on impacted devices, posing a severe threat to industrial wireless environments. The vulnerability originates from improper input validation in the software’s web-based management interface, enables attackers to perform command injection attacks by sending crafted HTTP requests. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to execute root-level commands on affected devices, giving them full control over the device's operating system.
The devices impacted by this vulnerability include:
- Catalyst IW9165D Heavy Duty Access Points
- Catalyst IW9165E Rugged Access Points and Wireless Clients
- Catalyst IW9167E Heavy Duty Access Points
These devices are only vulnerable if they are running affected versions of the software and have the URWB operating mode enabled. Administrators can check URWB status by running the show mpls-config command in the CLI. If unavailable, URWB mode is disabled, and the device is not impacted.
Cisco has not provided workarounds; applying the security update is the only remediation. Cisco advises upgrading to version 17.15.1 or later to mitigate this vulnerability. Versions prior to 17.14 must migrate to a fixed release.
Cisco confirms that no known public exploits are available, and the vulnerability was identified during internal security testing. For further details, refer to the official Cisco advisory:
