Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessReach ClearPass API over network
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DeliverySend request with path-traversal sequences
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ExploitBypass authorization path handling
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ExecutionObtain unintended role assignment
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ImpactGain unauthorized network/policy privileges
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires network access to the ClearPass Policy Manager API endpoint and the ability to send crafted requests containing path-traversal sequences; per PR:N no authentication is needed and per UI:N no user interaction is required, so default deployments exposing the management/API interface are reachable. The primary limiting factor is network exposure of the ClearPass API - deployments that restrict the management/API interface to isolated or trusted administrative networks (rather than broad or internet-facing access) substantially reduce reachability. Impact is bounded to influencing authorization decisions and obtaining an unintended role (partial C/I/A), not full system takeover. |
| Impact | This is a moderate-priority, broadly-reachable flaw rather than a critical emergency. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) is the strongest risk signal here: it is remotely reachable over the network, requires low attack complexity, needs no privileges, and no user interaction - meaning any attacker with network access to the ClearPass API can attempt it. The 7.3 score is held below critical because impact is only partial across the board (C:L/I:L/A:L, scope unchanged), reflecting that the attacker influences authorization decisions / gains an unintended role rather than achieving full compromise. Confidence-tempering gaps: no EPSS score was provided, so exploitation probability cannot be quantified; there is no CISA KEV entry, so there is no public-exploitation signal; and no POC was referenced, so weaponization maturity is unknown. The CVSS network vector is consistent with the description's explicit 'unauthenticated remote attacker' and 'API endpoint' language, so there is no signal conflict. Net: treat as a real patch priority for internet- or widely-network-exposed ClearPass deployments (it is a security-enforcement appliance, which raises the stakes of a role-assignment bypass), but absent EPSS/KEV/POC data it is not evidence of active mass exploitation. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with network reachability to the ClearPass Policy Manager API sends a crafted request containing path-traversal sequences to the vulnerable endpoint, without any credentials. By manipulating the traversal, the attacker influences the policy engine's authorization logic and is assigned a role they should not hold, gaining network access or privileges beyond their entitlement. No public exploit was identified at the time of analysis, so the scenario is inferred from the CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) and the description. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 06, 2026
Unauthenticated path traversal in an API endpoint of HPE Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager allows a remote attacker to manipulate authorization logic and be assigned a role they were not intended to hold, yielding partial confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (CVSS 7.3, AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L). Because the vector is PR:N and UI:N, no credentials or user interaction are required - the practical barrier is network reachability of the ClearPass management/API interface, so internet-facing or broadly exposed deployments are the most at risk while those confined to isolated administrative networks are largely shielded. Exploitation status: no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and neither a CISA KEV listing nor an EPSS score was supplied with the source data; impact is bounded to role/authorization manipulation rather than full host compromise.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch version is identified in the available data, so the first action is to retrieve the fixed-software guidance directly from the HPE security bulletin at https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=hpesbnw05158en_us&docLocale=en_US and apply the indicated ClearPass update as soon as it is published for your release train. Until then, the highest-value compensating control is to constrain who can reach the ClearPass API and management interface: apply firewall or load-balancer ACLs so only known administrative subnets, jump hosts, or VPN clients can reach those ports, and remove any internet-facing exposure; the trade-off is that this breaks external captive-portal/guest self-registration flows and third-party integrations that legitimately call the API from untrusted networks, so those callers must be re-homed behind the trusted boundary first. A reverse proxy that normalizes and rejects request paths containing traversal sequences (dot-dot and their encoded forms) before forwarding to ClearPass adds defense in depth, but it risks rejecting legitimate clients that use unusual encoding and must be tested against real onboarding traffic. Finally, forward ClearPass audit, event, and API logs to a SIEM and alert on unexpected role assignments, privilege elevations, or anomalous API paths - this is detective only and does not prevent exploitation, but it provides the visibility needed to identify attempts while a patch is pending.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
ClearPass Policy Manager is HPE Aruba's network access control and policy engine, and its REST API underpins guest onboarding, endpoint profiling, role mapping, and RADIUS/802.1X enforcement decisions, so any weakness that lets a caller influence which role is assigned can ripple into which network segments, VLANs, or services an endpoint is granted. The supplied CWE field is empty, but the 'Path Traversal' tag points to path-traversal handling of user-controlled input in an API route - canonically CWE-22, or the API-level variant where relative-path sequences (including percent-encoded forms such as %2e%2e%2f) cause a request to resolve to a different internal handler, resource, or policy object than the one the caller is authorized to reach. Notably, the described outcome is not file disclosure but a change in authorization outcome - an unintended role being assigned - which suggests the traversal crosses a logical boundary in the API's routing/authorization layer, an effect commonly mapped to improper authorization (CWE-863) arising from the traversal primitive. The CVSS 3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L is consistent with remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated use producing limited rather than total compromise, and there is no scope change, so a successful attack is expected to grant a role within ClearPass' own model rather than control of the underlying operating system.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Unauthenticated remote API request (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); unintended role assignment yields partial confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact without a scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (hpe).
CVSS VectorVendor: hpe
DescriptionCVE.org
An unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability exists in an API endpoint of ClearPass Policy Manager. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to influence authorization decisions and be assigned an unintended role.
Executive ViewAI
HPE Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager, the network access control platform that decides which users and devices are trusted on the corporate network, contains an unauthenticated path traversal flaw (CVE-2026-79809, CVSS 7.3) that allows a remote attacker to manipulate authorization logic and be assigned a role they were never intended to hold. No credentials or user interaction are required, so any internet-facing or broadly reachable ClearPass management/API interface is exposed, and the platform's access decisions can no longer be fully trusted. Because ClearPass sits at the trust boundary for wired, wireless, and VPN admission, leadership should treat this as a control-plane integrity issue affecting the whole estate rather than a routine application bug; exploitation is scored as no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and no vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis.
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: restrict the ClearPass management and API interfaces to dedicated administrative networks using firewall rules, ACLs, and network segmentation; enforce access through a hardened jump host with MFA; disable unused API endpoints and restrict inbound sources; enforce least-privilege role mappings and review authorization policies; audit accounts and role assignments for unauthorized changes; enable detailed logging and alerting on authentication and role-modification events; and engage HPE Aruba support for interim mitigation guidance pending a vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
There is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the underlying L2/L3 Management service that could lead to unauthenticated r
There is a buffer overflow vulnerability in the underlying Utility daemon that could lead to unauthenticated remote code
A remote execution of arbitrary commands vulnerability was discovered in some Aruba Instant Access Point (IAP) products
Unauthenticated remote attackers can bypass authentication in the web management interface of HPE AOS-S (ArubaOS-Switch)
Aruba Networks ClearPass Policy Manager before 6.4.7 and 6.5.x before 6.5.2 allows remote attackers to gain shell access
Aruba Networks ClearPass before 6.3.6 and 6.4.x before 6.4.1 does not properly restrict access to unspecified administra
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Aruba Networks ClearPass Policy Manager (CPPM) before 6.4.5 allows remote at
Aruba Networks ClearPass before 6.3.5 and 6.4.x before 6.4.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via u
A remote arbitrary file modification vulnerability was discovered in some Aruba Instant Access Point (IAP) products in v
A remote arbitrary file modification vulnerability was discovered in some Aruba Instant Access Point (IAP) products in v
Unauthenticated remote attackers can trigger buffer overflows in an interface of HPE Aruba AOS-S (ArubaOS-Switch) that i
There is a command injection vulnerability that could lead to unauthenticated remote code execution by sending specially
EUVD-2026-93895
GHSA-x6vr-x995-pjqg
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB