CVE-2020-3262
Cisco Wireless LAN Controller CAPWAP Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol handler of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of CAPWAP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed CAPWAP packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to restart, 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 CAPWAP Denial of Service Vulnerability
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol handler of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of CAPWAP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed CAPWAP packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to restart, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
CVE-2020-3262- 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-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-24533
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol handler of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of CAPWAP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed CAPWAP packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to restart, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
EUVD-2020-24533- 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-h4wq-fxpq-gmg2 No score
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 handler of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of CAPWAP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed CAPWAP packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to restart, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
GHSA-h4wq-fxpq-gmg2- Weakness
- CWE-20
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A vulnerability in the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol handler of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient validation of CAPWAP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malformed CAPWAP packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to restart, resulting in a DoS condition.
- Record
CVE-2020-3262- 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-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-2020-3262 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.6) in Cisco 5508 Wireless Controller Firmware, published April 15, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.47%, the 73rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.