Description
An unauthenticated P4Runtime (Programming Protocol-Independent Packet Processors Runtime) client can achieve arbitrary code execution under certain conditions on affected platforms running Arista EOS configured with P4Runtime. P4Runtime is disabled by default in Arista EOS. By crafting a malicious packet during the initiation of a P4Runtime session, an attacker can obtain complete administrative control over the compromised switch.

This issue was discovered internally by Arista, and the company is not aware of any malicious exploitation of this vulnerability in customer networks.
Published: 2026-09-16
Score: 9.5 Critical
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

Vendor Solution

The recommended resolution is to upgrade to a remediated software version at your earliest convenience. Arista recommends customers move to the latest version of each release that contains all the fixes listed below. CVE-2026-73453 has been fixed in the following releases: - 4.36.2F and later releases in the 4.36.x train - 4.35.6M and later releases in the 4.35.x train - 4.34.8M and later releases in the 4.34.x train No hotfix is available for this issue.


Vendor Workaround

To mitigate this issue, it is recommended to configure the p4-runtime service in mTLS mode (ssl profile with trust certificates). Additionally, enable gNSI Authz to facilitate RPC authorization via the client certificate SPIFFE-ID. Please note that enabling mTLS config will terminate all existing P4 client connections and may cause control plane disruption since packet I/O operations are impacted. Before implementing this solution, the following pre-requisites must be met: 1. Generate SPIFFE-ID client certificate signed by the server trusted CA and use it for establishing P4 client connection to the server. 2. Define a json file with SPIFFE-ID based policies for Authz service and install it on the device using gNSI Authz.Rotate() rpc. switch>show running-config section p4-runtime p4-runtime no shutdown ! transport grpc foo ssl profile campus authentication username priority x509-spiffe switch>show running-config section security management security ssl profile campus certificate server.crt key server.key trust certificate ca.crt switch>show running-config section gnsi management api gnsi service authz

Tracking

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Advisories

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History

Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}


Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description An unauthenticated P4Runtime (Programming Protocol-Independent Packet Processors Runtime) client can achieve arbitrary code execution under certain conditions on affected platforms running Arista EOS configured with P4Runtime. P4Runtime is disabled by default in Arista EOS. By crafting a malicious packet during the initiation of a P4Runtime session, an attacker can obtain complete administrative control over the compromised switch. This issue was discovered internally by Arista, and the company is not aware of any malicious exploitation of this vulnerability in customer networks.
Title Security Advisory 0174
Weaknesses CWE-94
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 10, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H'}

cvssV4_0

{'score': 9.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H'}


Subscriptions

No data.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Arista

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-16T13:42:00.799Z

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

Link: CVE-2026-73453

cve-icon Vulnrichment

Updated: 2026-09-16T13:41:57.151Z

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-16T10:16:52.043

Modified: 2026-09-16T14:17:08.663

Link: CVE-2026-73453

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses