{"id":87112,"date":"2026-06-13T10:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T10:00:02","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"cve-2025-20202-denial-of-service-vulnerability-in-cisco-ios-xe-wireless-controller-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-20202-denial-of-service-vulnerability-in-cisco-ios-xe-wireless-controller-software\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2025-20202: Denial of Service Vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

This report discusses CVE-2025-20202, a severe vulnerability found in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software. It impacts the network infrastructure of organizations utilizing the affected software, posing a significant threat to their operations and data integrity. This vulnerability, if exploited, could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition, disrupting network services and potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2025-20202
\nSeverity: High (7.4 CVSS Score)
\nAttack Vector: Network
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: None
\nImpact: A successful exploit of this vulnerability could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service condition, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software | All versions prior to the latest patch<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

This vulnerability is due to inadequate input validation of access point (AP) Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) neighbor reports when processed by the wireless controller. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a maliciously crafted CDP packet to an AP. If successful, the attacker could cause an unexpected reload of the wireless controller managing the AP, resulting in a denial of service condition that disrupts the wireless network.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following is a conceptual representation of the maliciously crafted CDP packet sent to the access point:<\/p>\n

cdp send interface eth0\nDestination MAC: 01:00:0C:CC:CC:CC\nCDP Version: 2\nTTL: 180\nChecksum: 0x0000 (incorrect)\nDevice ID: Malicious_Device\nSoftware Version: Cisco IOS Software, C2960 Software (C2960-LANBASEK9-M), Version 12.2(25)SEE2, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)\nPlatform: cisco WS-C2960-8TC-L\nAddresses: 1 address\n1. IP: 192.0.2.1\nPort ID: Gig 0\/1\nCapabilities: Router, L2 Switch, IGMP filtering\nVTP Management Domain:\nNative VLAN: 1\nDuplex: full\nPower available: 0 mW, Power request id: 0, Power management id: 0<\/code><\/pre>\n
Please note that the above pseudocode is a conceptual representation of how an exploit may occur. The actual exploit would be specific to the vulnerabilities in the code of the affected software.<\/p>\n
Mitigation Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n
To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to apply the latest patch provided by the vendor. In case the patch cannot be applied immediately, the use of Web Application Firewalls (WAF) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) could serve as a temporary mitigation measure. These tools can help identify and block the crafted CDP packets that could exploit the vulnerability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview This report discusses CVE-2025-20202, a severe vulnerability found in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software. It impacts the network infrastructure of organizations utilizing the affected software, posing a significant threat to their operations and data integrity. This vulnerability, if exploited, could allow an attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition, disrupting network […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-87112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t