dbcve.org
Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20684

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
A vulnerability in Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) trap generation for wireless clients of Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software for the Catalyst 9000 Family could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause an affected device to unexpectedly reload, resulting in a denial of service (DoS) condition on the device. This vulnerability is due to a lack of input validation of the information used to generate an SNMP trap related to a wireless client connection event. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending an 802.1x packet with crafted parameters during the wireless authentication setup phase of a connection. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload, resulting in a DoS condition.

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 confidence

A lack of input validation in the SNMP trap generation code for wireless client connection events in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to send specially crafted 802.1x packets during wireless authentication that cause the device to unexpectedly reload, resulting in denial of service.

MitigationApply the Cisco-provided software update (patch) for Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software to remediate this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor for unexpected device reloads and consider network access controls to limit adjacent attacker proximity.

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
Ios XeOperating system
Affected:= 3.15.1xbs= 3.15.2xbs= 16.6.1= 16.6.2= 16.6.3= 16.6.4= 16.6.4a= 16.6.4s= 16.6.5= 16.6.5a= 16.6.5b= 16.6.6

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device OS version
    Run 'show version' or 'show inventory' to retrieve the installed Cisco IOS XE version
    Affected if The version matches one of these: 3.15.1xbs, 3.15.2xbs, 16.6.1, 16.6.2, 16.6.3, 16.6.4, 16.6.4a, 16.6.4s, 16.6.5, 16.6.5a, 16.6.5b, 16.6.6
  2. Confirm Wireless Controller feature is active
    Run 'show controller wifi' or 'show wireless controller' to verify the wireless controller subsystem is enabled
    Affected if The wireless controller feature is running and processing client associations
  3. Verify SNMP configuration exists
    Run 'show snmp' or check running config for 'snmp-server' commands to see if SNMP is configured
    Affected if SNMP is enabled on the device (the flaw is in SNMP trap generation code)
  4. Check for 802.1x wireless authentication
    Run 'show wireless client summary' or 'show dot1x summary' to see if wireless clients are authenticating via 802.1x
    Affected if 802.1x wireless authentication is in use; this is the attack vector
  5. Review logs for unexpected reloads
    Run 'show log' or 'show reload' to check for unexplained device reloads, especially correlating with wireless authentication events
    Affected if Device has reloaded unexpectedly without administrative cause, particularly during wireless client authentication attempts

A user is affected if the device runs a matching IOS XE version with wireless controller and SNMP enabled, and 802.1x wireless authentication is in use, or if unexplained reloads have occurred.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Cisco-provided software update (patch) for Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software to remediate this vulnerability. Until patched, monitor for unexpected device reloads and consider network access controls to limit adjacent attacker proximity.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Fixed IOS XE release as specified in Cisco Security Advisory for CVE-2022-20684

  1. 1. Identify the current Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software version running on the device using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Access the Cisco Security Advisories page at tools.cisco.com and search for CVE-2022-20684
  3. 3. Download and install the fixed IOS XE version specified in the advisory for your hardware platform
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'show version' and confirming the new software version
  5. 5. Test wireless client authentication functionality to confirm normal operation
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any functionality changes between current and fixed versions before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ios Xe Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-20684 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data