On affected platforms running Arista EOS with MLAG Dual Primary Detection configured, an unauthenticated attacker with access to the Dual Primary Detection network segment can send specially crafted packets to interfere with the dual-primary state. If the MLAG primary switch fails while these packets are present, the secondary switch incorrectly concludes it is in a dual-primary condition and err-disables its interfaces, leading to a traffic interruption.
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

The recommended resolution is to upgrade to a remediated software version at your earliest convenience.


Workaround

Restrict access to the MLAG heartbeat interface by configuring Access Control Lists (ACLs) to permit traffic strictly from the designated peer address. Insert the following ACL rules into the top of the ingress ACL on the VRF where the heartbeat address is configured, while denying traffic from all other source addresses. permit udp host <heartbeatPeerAddress> any eq mlag permit udp any any eq mlag ttl eq 255 deny udp any any eq mlag log Ensure administrative access for required services (e.g., SSH, NTP, SNMP) remains permitted. For instance, if the heartbeat address is reachable via the management VRF. First, construct the ingress ACL to restrict access on the MLAG heartbeat interface. switch(config)#ip access-list MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT switch(config-acl-MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT)#5 permit udp host 172.30.118.190 any eq mlag switch(config-acl-MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT)#6 permit udp any any eq mlag ttl eq 255 switch(config-acl-MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT)#7 deny udp any any eq mlag log ... Apply the ACL to management VRF: switch(config)#system control-plane switch(config-system-cp)#ip access-group MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT vrf management in switch(config-system-cp)#exit Show command to confirm the rules: switch(config)#show ip access-lists MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT Phone ACL bypass: disabled IP Access List MLAG-HEARTBEAT-PROTECT         5 permit udp host 172.30.118.190 any eq mlag         6 permit udp any any eq mlag ttl eq 255         7 deny udp any any eq mlag log         …         Total rules configured: …         Configured on Ingress: control-plane(management VRF)         Active on     Ingress: control-plane(management VRF)

History

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description On affected platforms running Arista EOS with MLAG Dual Primary Detection configured, an unauthenticated attacker with access to the Dual Primary Detection network segment can send specially crafted packets to interfere with the dual-primary state. If the MLAG primary switch fails while these packets are present, the secondary switch incorrectly concludes it is in a dual-primary condition and err-disables its interfaces, leading to a traffic interruption.
Title Security Advisory 0161
Weaknesses CWE-345
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 6.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 7, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H'}


Projects

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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Arista

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-16T02:32:45.999Z

Reserved: 2026-08-12T16:42:47.921Z

Link: CVE-2026-73450

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-16T03:16:59.437

Modified: 2026-09-16T03:16:59.437

Link: CVE-2026-73450

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses