CVE-2018-0443
Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Software Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points Protocol Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol component of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation on fields within CAPWAP Discovery Request packets by the affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious CAPWAP Discovery Request packets to the Cisco WLC Software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco WLC Software to disconnect associated access points (APs). While the APs disconnect and reconnect, service will be unavailable for a brief period of time, resulting in a DoS condition.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Software Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points Protocol Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol component of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation on fields within CAPWAP Discovery Request packets by the affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious CAPWAP Discovery Request packets to the Cisco WLC Software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco WLC Software to disconnect associated access points (APs). While the APs disconnect and reconnect, service will be unavailable for a brief period of time, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
CVE-2018-0443- CVSS 3.0
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-399
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2018-1266
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol component of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation on fields within CAPWAP Discovery Request packets by the affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious CAPWAP Discovery Request packets to the Cisco WLC Software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco WLC Software to disconnect associated access points (APs). While the APs disconnect and reconnect, service will be unavailable for a brief period of time, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
EUVD-2018-1266- CVSS 3.0
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-w55v-5qm4-5hrw
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol...
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol component of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation on fields within CAPWAP Discovery Request packets by the affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious CAPWAP Discovery Request packets to the Cisco WLC Software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco WLC Software to disconnect associated access points (APs). While the APs disconnect and reconnect, service will be unavailable for a brief period of time, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
GHSA-w55v-5qm4-5hrw- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol component of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. The vulnerability is due to improper input validation on fields within CAPWAP Discovery Request packets by the affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious CAPWAP Discovery Request packets to the Cisco WLC Software. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Cisco WLC Software to disconnect associated access points (APs). While the APs disconnect and reconnect, service will be unavailable for a brief period of time, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
CVE-2018-0443- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 3.0
- 8.6 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-399, CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2018-0443 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.6) in Cisco Wireless Lan Controller (wlc), published October 17, 2018. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.38%, the 88th percentile. No source names a fixed version.