CVE-2020-3206
Cisco IOS XE Software Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the handling of IEEE 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMFs) of Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers that are running Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to terminate a valid user connection to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly validate 802.11w disassociation and deauthentication PMFs that it receives. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a spoofed 802.11w PMF from a valid, authenticated client on a network adjacent to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to terminate a single valid user connection to the affected device.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
4.7
Cisco IOS XE Software Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the handling of IEEE 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMFs) of Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers that are running Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to terminate a valid user connection to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly validate 802.11w disassociation and deauthentication PMFs that it receives. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a spoofed 802.11w PMF from a valid, authenticated client on a network adjacent to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to terminate a single valid user connection to the affected device.
- Record
CVE-2020-3206- CVSS 3.0
- 4.7 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24477
4.7
A vulnerability in the handling of IEEE 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMFs) of Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers that are running Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to terminate a valid user connection to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly validate 802.11w disassociation and deauthentication PMFs that it receives. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a spoofed 802.11w PMF from a valid, authenticated client on a network adjacent to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to terminate a single valid user connection to the affected device.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24477- CVSS 3.0
- 4.7 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-jqh5-88rr-f29q
4.7
A vulnerability in the handling of IEEE 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMFs) of Cisco...
A vulnerability in the handling of IEEE 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMFs) of Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers that are running Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to terminate a valid user connection to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly validate 802.11w disassociation and deauthentication PMFs that it receives. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a spoofed 802.11w PMF from a valid, authenticated client on a network adjacent to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to terminate a single valid user connection to the affected device.
- Record
GHSA-jqh5-88rr-f29q- CVSS 3.1
- 4.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
4.7
A vulnerability in the handling of IEEE 802.11w Protected Management Frames (PMFs) of Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers that are running Cisco IOS XE Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to terminate a valid user connection to an affected device. The vulnerability exists because the affected software does not properly validate 802.11w disassociation and deauthentication PMFs that it receives. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a spoofed 802.11w PMF from a valid, authenticated client on a network adjacent to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to terminate a single valid user connection to the affected device.
- Record
CVE-2020-3206- CVSS 3.1
- 4.7 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L - CVSS 3.0
- 4.7 Medium
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L - CVSS 2.0
- 3.3 Low
AV:A/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-3206 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.7) in Cisco Ios Xe, published June 3, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.47%, the 40th percentile. No source names a fixed version.