HPE Networking Instant On Access Points Vulnerabilities (CVE-2025-37103, CVE-2025-37102): Hardening Network Infrastructure

Overview

On July 18, 2025, HPE disclosed two vulnerabilities in its Networking Instant On Access APs: CVE-2025-37103 (CVSS 9.8, hard-coded credentials) and CVE-2025-37102 (CVSS 7.2, authenticated command injection). These flaws allow attackers to bypass authentication and execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges.

Explanation

CVE-2025-37103 involves hard-coded credentials in HPE Instant On Access Points, enabling attackers to gain admin access. CVE-2025-37102 allows authenticated attackers to inject commands via the CLI, executing them as privileged users. Both flaws were exploited in the wild, targeting exposed network devices.

Impact

• Admin Access: Full control of access points.

• Network Compromise: Potential for lateral movement.

• Data Interception: Exposure of network traffic.

• Service Disruption: Downtime and reconfiguration costs.

Details

• MITRE ATT&CK Mapping:

  • Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001): T1078 (Valid Accounts) – Used hard-coded credentials.

  • Tactic: Execution (TA0002): T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) – Executed CLI commands.

  • Tactic: Privilege Escalation (TA0004): T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation) – Gained elevated privileges.

• IOCs:

  • Domains: None publicly disclosed.

  • IP Addresses: None publicly disclosed.

  • File Hashes: None specific.

• Log Artifacts:

  Jul 18 2025 12:15:44 [HPE-AP] Login attempt with hard-coded credentials from 172.16.254.99
  Jul 18 2025 12:15:45 [HPE-AP] Command injection detected in CLI

• Remediation:

  • Vendor Patch Guidance: Apply HPE’s security updates for Instant On Access Points.

  • Temporary Mitigations: Restrict AP management access; disable CLI for non-admin users.

  • Known Workarounds: Deploy network segmentation; monitor for unauthorized logins.

• Threat Hunting Recommendations:

  • Log Correlation: Monitor AP logs for hard-coded credential usage or CLI command anomalies.

  • YARA Rule:

    rule HPE_AccessPoint_Exploit {
      meta:
        description = "Detects hard-coded credential usage in HPE APs"
        author = "FireCompass Threat Research"
      strings:
        $s1 = "admin:default" ascii
      condition:
        $s1
    }

  • Anomalous Traffic: Monitor for unexpected CLI activity or admin logins.

Takeaway for CISOs

Network infrastructure vulnerabilities can compromise entire environments. CISOs must enforce strict access controls and regular firmware updates.

FireCompass Tests For Exposed Network Devices: FireCompass Agentic AI Platform scans for exposed network devices and tests for vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-37103.

Start your free trial today: www.firecompass.com/trial.