CVE-2026-102163

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-102163 is a critical out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) in Arista access points when the Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) feature is active. An unauthenticated attacker within radio frequency (RF) proximity can send a crafted frame to crash the WIPS sensor service, disabling wireless intrusion monitoring, or potentially achieve remote code execution on the affected access point. With a CVSS score of 8.8 and no patch currently available, organizations running Arista access points with WIPS enabled are at significant risk from adjacent-network attackers.

Technical Analysis

The vulnerability resides in the WIPS sensor service on Arista access points. WIPS is a security feature that monitors the radio frequency spectrum for rogue access points, wireless attacks, and policy violations. The service processes 802.11 management, control, and data frames received over the air to perform its monitoring function. CVE-2026-102163 is classified as CWE-787, an out-of-bounds write, which occurs when the software writes data past the end of an allocated buffer.

The attack surface is the wireless radio interface itself. Unlike many network vulnerabilities that require IP-level access, this flaw is triggered by a crafted 802.11 frame transmitted within RF proximity of the access point. The NVD description explicitly states that "no wireless association or authentication is required," meaning the attacker does not need to join the network, complete a handshake, or possess any credentials. The WIPS sensor service processes frames in promiscuous/monitor mode to detect threats, and this processing path is where the out-of-bounds write occurs.

The impact has two potential outcomes. The first is a denial-of-service condition: the crafted frame crashes the sensor service, disabling WIPS monitoring on the access point. This is a security control bypass — the very mechanism designed to detect wireless attacks is taken offline, leaving the wireless environment blind to intrusion attempts. The second, more severe outcome is potential remote code execution. Because the vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write, a sufficiently sophisticated attacker could potentially craft a payload that achieves code execution on the access point, though the NVD description characterizes this as "potentially" achievable.

No public proof-of-concept, exploit code, or Nuclei template is available at this time. The technical details of the exact frame structure, the specific buffer that is overflowed, and the precise memory layout required for exploitation are not disclosed in the available intelligence. Per accuracy constraints, no specific function names, frame field offsets, or code paths can be confirmed from the provided data.

Exploitation Scenarios

No public PoC is available; the attack chain below is inferred from the vulnerability class (out-of-bounds write in a wireless frame processing service) and the NVD description.

Step 1 — Reconnaissance and target identification. An attacker within RF range of a target facility identifies Arista access points. This can be done passively by monitoring beacon frames and management frames that reveal vendor information (Arista OUIs in BSSIDs, vendor-specific information elements) or actively by probing. The attacker confirms the presence of Arista APs and, if possible, determines whether WIPS is active (WIPS-enabled APs may exhibit specific frame handling behavior or management frame signatures). Physical or RF proximity is required — the attacker must be within radio range, which for standard Wi-Fi is typically tens to hundreds of meters depending on antenna gain and environment.

Step 2 — Triggering the vulnerability. The attacker crafts a malicious 802.11 frame. Because the NVD description states no association or authentication is required, the frame can be a management frame (such as a beacon, probe response, or action frame) or a control frame that the WIPS sensor processes without requiring the sender to be a connected client. When the WIPS sensor service parses this crafted frame, the out-of-bounds write is triggered as the service writes data beyond the bounds of an allocated buffer. The specific frame type and field that triggers the overflow are not disclosed.

Step 3 — Payload and execution method. At the vulnerability-class level, an out-of-bounds write can be exploited in two ways. First, a minimal crafted frame can cause a memory corruption that crashes the sensor service, achieving the denial-of-service outcome. Second, a more elaborate payload can attempt to overwrite adjacent memory structures — such as function pointers, return addresses, or heap metadata — to redirect execution flow and achieve remote code execution. The feasibility of the RCE path depends on memory protections (ASLR, stack canaries, DEP) present on the access point platform, which are not disclosed. The NVD description indicates RCE is "potential," suggesting it may not be trivially achievable but is considered possible by the vendor/CNA.

Step 4 — Post-exploitation impact. If the attack only achieves the crash, the immediate impact is that WIPS monitoring is disabled on the access point. This creates a window of opportunity for follow-on wireless attacks (rogue AP deployment, evil twin attacks, deauthentication floods) that would normally be detected by WIPS. If RCE is achieved, the attacker gains code execution on the access point, which could allow them to pivot into the wired network, intercept wireless traffic, manipulate network traffic, or maintain persistence on the device.

Impact Assessment

The CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8 (High) reflects an adjacent-network attack vector (AV:A), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the impact is confined to the vulnerable component. However, the confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are all rated High (C:H/I:H/A:H).

The blast radius includes any Arista access point with WIPS active. Because WIPS is a security monitoring feature often deployed in regulated environments (healthcare, finance, government) and high-security facilities, the affected population may include organizations that specifically rely on WIPS for compliance and threat detection. The disabling of WIPS is itself a security impact: it removes a detective control, potentially allowing other wireless attacks to proceed undetected.

The potential for RCE elevates the severity beyond a simple DoS. An attacker who achieves code execution on an access point could use it as a foothold to attack the wired network, intercept or manipulate wireless client traffic, or use the AP as a persistent backdoor. The fact that no authentication or association is required makes the attack particularly dangerous — the attacker only needs to be within RF range, which could be from a parking lot, adjacent building, or public space.

No affected version information is available, and no patch has been released. The lack of a patch means the vulnerability is unmitigated for all deployments until a fix is issued or a workaround is implemented.

Detection Guidance

Sigma Rule

title: Arista WIPS Sensor Service Crash or Anomalous Frame Handling
id: 8f4a2c1e-9b3d-4e7a-a1c2-5d6e8f0b3a4c
status: experimental
description: Detects potential exploitation of CVE-2026-102163 via WIPS sensor service crash or anomalous 802.11 frame processing on Arista access points.
author: Threat Intelligence
date: 2026-01-01
logsource:
  product: arista
  service: wips
detection:
  selection_crash:
    EventID:
      - 'WIPS_SERVICE_CRASH'
      - 'WIPS_SERVICE_RESTART'
      - 'SENSOR_SERVICE_FAILURE'
  selection_frame:
    Message|contains:
      - 'out-of-bounds'
      - 'buffer overflow'
      - 'invalid frame length'
      - 'wips sensor'
  condition: selection_crash or selection_frame
falsepositives:
  - Legitimate service restarts during maintenance
  - Malformed frames from non-malicious sources
level: high
tags:
  - attack.t1190
  - cve.2026.102163

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2026_102163_Arista_WIPS_OOB_Write
{
    meta:
        description = "Detects potential exploitation artifacts of CVE-2026-102163 in Arista WIPS sensor service memory or firmware"
        author = "Threat Intelligence"
        date = "2026-01-01"
        reference = "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102163"
        severity = "high"
        cve = "CVE-2026-102163"

    strings:
        $s1 = "wips" ascii nocase
        $s2 = "sensor" ascii nocase
        $s3 = "Arista" ascii
        $s4 = "wireless intrusion" ascii nocase
        $s5 = "WIPS" ascii

    condition:
        (uint16(0) == 0x5A4D or uint32(0) == 0x464C457F) and
        (2 of ($s1, $s2, $s3, $s4, $s5))
}

Suricata IDS Rule

alert udp any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2026-102163 Arista WIPS Crafted Frame DoS/RCE Attempt"; flow:stateless; content:"|00 00|"; depth:2; byte_test:1,>,100,0,relative; classtype:attempted-admin; reference:cve,2026-102163; reference:url,nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102163; sid:2026102163; rev:1; metadata:created_at 2026_01_01, updated_at 2026_01_01;)

Elastic Detection

sequence by host.id with maxspan=5m
  [any where event.category == "network" and event.action == "wips_frame_received" and
   network.protocol == "802.11" and process.name == "wips_sensor" and
   network.bytes > 0 and event.outcome == "failure"]
  [any where event.category == "process" and event.action == "process_crash" and
   process.name == "wips_sensor" and
   host.os.type == "embedded"]

Splunk SPL Query

index=network sourcetype="arista:ap:syslog" ("wips" OR "sensor" OR "802.11")
| search ("crash" OR "restart" OR "overflow" OR "out-of-bounds" OR "invalid frame" OR "segfault")
| stats count min(_time) as first_seen max(_time) as last_seen by host, src, message
| where count > 1
| sort -count
| table first_seen last_seen host src count message

Wazuh OSSEC Rule

<group name="arista,wips,cve-2026-102163">
  <rule id="2026103" level="12">
    <decoded_as>syslog</decoded_as>
    <match>wips|WIPS|sensor service|wireless intrusion</match>
    <regex>crash|overflow|out-of-bounds|segfault|restart|invalid frame</regex>
    <description>CVE-2026-102163: Potential Arista WIPS sensor service exploitation or crash detected</description>
    <mitre>
      <id>T1190</id>
    </mitre>
    <group>cve_2026_102163,attack,</group>
  </rule>
</group>

Mitigation & Patch Guidance

Patch confidence: 0/4 (UNPATCHED — no patch evidence from any tracked source).

1. Immediate mitigations:

   • Disable WIPS on Arista access points if the feature is not operationally required. This removes the vulnerable processing path at the cost of losing wireless intrusion detection.
   • If WIPS must remain active, isolate access points on dedicated management VLANs and restrict RF propagation where feasible (reduce transmit power, use directional antennas, shield facilities).
   • Monitor access point logs for WIPS sensor service crashes or restarts and treat them as potential exploitation attempts.
   • Physically inspect and RF-survey the perimeter to identify areas where an attacker could feasibly achieve RF proximity.

2. Patch/upgrade steps:

   • No patch is currently available. Monitor Arista's security advisory portal and the NVD entry for CVE-2026-102163 for remediation updates.
   • Once a firmware update is released, prioritize patching access points with WIPS enabled, especially in high-security or regulated environments.
   • Establish a firmware inventory for all Arista access points to facilitate rapid patching when a fix becomes available.

3. Long-term hardening:

   • Adopt a defense-in-depth wireless security strategy that does not rely solely on WIPS for detection; combine WIPS with network segmentation, 802.1X, and continuous RF monitoring.
   • Implement centralized logging and alerting for access point service crashes to detect exploitation attempts early.
   • Conduct regular wireless penetration testing, including RF-adjacent attack simulations, to validate detection and response capabilities.
   • Track vendor advisories and maintain an asset inventory with firmware version tracking for all wireless infrastructure.

References

• NVD — CVE-2026-102163: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-102163
• CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write — https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/787.html
• Arista Security Advisories portal: https://www.arista.com/en/support/advisories-notices
• CVSS v3.1 Specification: https://www.first.org/cvss/v3.1/specification-document
• MITRE ATT&CK T1190 — Exploit Public-Facing Application: https://attack.mitre.org/techniques/T1190/

No threat actor campaigns or exploit-in-the-wild evidence have been observed for CVE-2026-102163 at this time. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV.