Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-3273


A vulnerability in the 802.11 Generic Advertisement Service (GAS) frame processing function of Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause an affected device to reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS). The vulnerability is due to incomplete input validation of the 802.11 GAS frames that are processed by an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted 802.11 GAS frame over the air to an access point (AP), and that frame would then be relayed to the affected WLC. Also, an attacker with Layer 3 connectivity to the WLC could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious 802.11 GAS payload in a Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) packet to the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to reload, resulting in a DoS.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 4 products from cisco, from cisco, from cisco and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2020-04-15T21:15:36.183

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:30:42.057

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: LOW
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: NONE
  • Integrity Impact: NONE
  • Availability Impact: PARTIAL
Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

2.9

Weaknesses
  • Type: Secondary
    CWE-119
  • Type: Primary
    CWE-119

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Operating System cisco 5508_wireless_controller_firmware 8.5\(151.0\) Yes
Operating System cisco 5508_wireless_controller_firmware 8.10\(204.92\) Yes
Hardware cisco 5508_wireless_controller - No
Operating System cisco 5520_wireless_controller_firmware 8.5\(151.0\) Yes
Operating System cisco 5520_wireless_controller_firmware 8.10\(204.92\) Yes
Hardware cisco 5520_wireless_controller - No

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For cisco's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.