CVE-2025-46116 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting CommScope Ruckus Unleashed wireless controllers prior to versions 200.15.6.212.14 and 200.17.7.0.139, as well as Ruckus ZoneDirector prior to version 10.5.1.0.279. The vulnerability arises from an authenticated attacker’s ability to disable the passphrase requirement for a hidden CLI command named '!v54!' through a management API call. Once the passphrase requirement is disabled, the attacker can invoke this hidden command to escape the restricted shell environment and gain root shell access on the controller. This effectively allows privilege escalation from an authenticated user with limited privileges to full administrative control over the device. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges) and CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management), indicating flaws in access control and privilege enforcement. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.8, reflecting high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and requiring only privileges of a low-level authenticated user without user interaction. No public exploits are known at this time, but the severity and ease of exploitation make it a critical concern for organizations using these wireless controllers. The lack of a patch link suggests that affected organizations should monitor vendor advisories closely for updates or mitigations.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability is significant. Ruckus wireless controllers are commonly deployed in enterprise, education, healthcare, and public sector networks to manage Wi-Fi infrastructure. Compromise of these controllers can lead to full control over the wireless network management plane, enabling attackers to intercept, manipulate, or disrupt wireless communications. This can result in unauthorized access to sensitive internal resources, data exfiltration, and disruption of critical services reliant on wireless connectivity. Additionally, root access on the controller could be leveraged to pivot into the broader corporate network, increasing the risk of widespread compromise. Given the high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts, organizations face risks including regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR), reputational damage, and operational downtime. The requirement for authenticated access means insider threats or compromised credentials could be exploited, emphasizing the need for strong internal controls.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should take the following specific actions: 1) Immediately identify all affected Ruckus Unleashed and ZoneDirector devices within their environment. 2) Restrict management API access to trusted administrators only, ideally via network segmentation and VPNs, to reduce the attack surface. 3) Enforce strong authentication mechanisms and rotate credentials regularly to prevent unauthorized authenticated access. 4) Monitor device logs and network traffic for unusual API calls or shell escapes indicative of exploitation attempts. 5) Apply vendor patches or firmware updates as soon as they become available; if no patch is currently released, engage with CommScope support for recommended interim mitigations or workarounds. 6) Consider disabling or restricting access to hidden or undocumented CLI commands where possible. 7) Implement network-level controls such as intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) tuned to detect anomalous management API activity. 8) Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing focused on wireless infrastructure to identify and remediate privilege escalation paths.