CVE-2022-20856

High
8.6
0.05.010.0
Year
2022
Published
Sep 30, 2022
Known Affected Devices
0
CVSS Score
8.6

What is CVE-2022-20856?

A vulnerability in the processing of Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) Mobility messages in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software for the Catalyst 9000 Family could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to a logic error and improper management of resources related to the handling of CAPWAP Mobility messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted CAPWAP Mobility packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to exhaust resources on the affected device. This would cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

CVSS Vector Breakdown

CVSS 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
AV
Attack Vector
Network

Exploitable remotely over the network without requiring access to the local system.

AC
Attack Complexity
Low

No special conditions required. Exploit can be performed reliably and repeatedly.

PR
Privileges Required
None

No authentication required. Any anonymous user can exploit this vulnerability.

UI
User Interaction
None

No user interaction required. Exploit runs without any victim action.

S
Scope
Changed

Exploiting the vulnerability can affect other components beyond the vulnerable one.

C
Confidentiality Impact
None

No confidentiality impact. Sensitive data is not exposed.

I
Integrity Impact
None

No integrity impact. Data cannot be modified.

A
Availability Impact
High

Complete denial of service. The component becomes fully unavailable.

Known Affected Devices

FAQ

How severe is CVE-2022-20856?

CVE-2022-20856 has a CVSS score of 8.6/10, rated as High. This is a high severity vulnerability and should be patched as soon as possible.

What does the CVSS score mean for CVE-2022-20856?

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) rates vulnerability severity from 0.0 to 10.0. CVE-2022-20856 scores 8.6/10 (High). Scores 9.0–10.0 are Critical, 7.0–8.9 are High, 4.0–6.9 are Medium, and below 4.0 are Low.

Which devices are affected by CVE-2022-20856?

The list of devices confirmed to be affected by CVE-2022-20856 is shown in the "Affected Devices" section above. Check your firmware version against the vendor security advisory and apply the latest patch.

How do I fix or mitigate CVE-2022-20856?

Apply the latest firmware or software update from the vendor. Check the References section above for official advisories and patch notes. If no patch is available, consider disabling the affected feature or isolating the device from untrusted networks.