Wireless Lan ControllerOperating system · Cisco
CVE-2020-3552
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA vulnerability in the Ethernet packet handling of Cisco Aironet Access Points (APs) Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to insufficient input validation. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting as a wired client to the Ethernet interface of an affected device and sending a series of specific packets within a short time frame. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a NULL pointer access that results in a reload of the affected device.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA vulnerability in the Ethernet packet handling of Cisco Aironet Access Points allows an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker with wired access to the Ethernet interface to send specific packets that trigger insufficient input validation, leading to a NULL pointer dereference and causing the device to reload (DoS).
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Wireless Lan ControllerOperating system
>= 8.6, < 8.10.105.0
Business Access PointsApplication
>= 10.0, < 10.1.1.0
Access PointsOperating system
< 16.12.4a
Aironet Access Point SoftwareApplication
= 8.10\(1.255\)CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Cisco device modelLog into the device CLI or check the hardware label to determine if it is an Aironet Access Point, Business Access Point, Wireless LAN Controller, or generic Cisco Access PointAffected if The device is any of these product types
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Determine the installed software versionRun 'show version' in the device CLI or check the controller/AP web interface to find the firmware/software version numberAffected if The version cannot be determined or is not visible
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Compare version against affected ranges for Cisco Wireless LAN ControllerIf the device is a WLC, verify the version is >= 8.6 but < 8.10.105.0Affected if Version falls within >= 8.6 and < 8.10.105.0
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Compare version against affected ranges for Cisco Business Access PointsIf the device is a Business AP, verify the version is >= 10.0 but < 10.1.1.0Affected if Version falls within >= 10.0 and < 10.1.1.0
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Compare version against affected ranges for Cisco Access PointsIf the device is a standard Access Point, verify the version is < 16.12.4aAffected if Version is below 16.12.4a
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Check for specific Aironet AP Software version 8.10(1.255)If the device runs Aironet AP Software, verify the exact version number is 8.10(1.255)Affected if Version is exactly 8.10(1.255)
The environment is affected if the device is a Cisco Aironet AP, Business AP, WLC, or Access Point running a software version that matches one of the specified affected ranges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data8.10.105.010.1.1.016.12.4a
Apply the vendor-supplied patch or software update from Cisco for affected Aironet AP models. Until patched, limit physical and Ethernet access to trusted personnel only.
Fix this in Wireless Lan Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3552 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-3552 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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