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Ios XeOperating system · Cisco

CVE-2022-20848

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 the UDP processing functionality of Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst 9100 Series Access Points could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to the improper processing of UDP datagrams. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending malicious UDP datagrams to an affected device. 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 denial of service vulnerability in Cisco IOS XE Software for Embedded Wireless Controllers on Catalyst 9100 Series Access Points allows unauthenticated remote attackers to send malicious UDP datagrams to an affected device, causing improper UDP processing that results in device reload.

MitigationApply the Cisco IOS XE software update or patch for CVE-2022-20848 once available. As an interim measure, consider implementing network-based ACLs to filter untrusted UDP traffic destined for the affected device.

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:= 17.6.1= 17.6.3= 17.9.1

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 the device model
    Run 'show version' or 'show inventory' and look for Catalyst 9100 Series Access Point in the output
    Affected if The device is not a Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series Access Point running IOS XE, then this CVE does not apply
  2. Check the IOS XE software version
    Run 'show version' and locate the 'IOS XE' or 'Version' line in the output. Compare the full version number to 17.6.1, 17.6.3, and 17.9.1
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches 17.6.1, 17.6.3, or 17.9.1, the device is running a vulnerable version
  3. Verify Embedded Wireless Controller is enabled
    Check the configuration with 'show running-config | include ewc' or look for 'Embedded Wireless Controller' in 'show version' output
    Affected if The device has Embedded Wireless Controller configured and the version matches one of the affected versions, the device is vulnerable to the UDP-based denial of service

A user is affected if they have a Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series Access Point running IOS XE versions 17.6.1, 17.6.3, or 17.9.1 with the Embedded Wireless Controller feature enabled and exposed to untrusted UDP traffic.

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 IOS XE software update or patch for CVE-2022-20848 once available. As an interim measure, consider implementing network-based ACLs to filter untrusted UDP traffic destined for the affected device.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to IOS XE 17.6.4 or later (17.6.x train), or 17.9.2 or later (17.9.x train), or the latest available stable release

  1. 1. Identify the current IOS XE version running on the Embedded Wireless Controller on Catalyst 9100 Series Access Points using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Save the current configuration using 'copy running-config startup-config' or 'write memory'
  3. 3. Access Cisco.com and navigate to the Security Advisory for CVE-2022-20848 at tools.cisco.com to obtain the specific fixed releases
  4. 4. Download the appropriate fixed IOS XE software release (typically 17.6.4 or later for 17.6.x train, or 17.9.2 or later for 17.9.x train)
  5. 5. Upload the new IOS XE image to the device using 'copy ftp://.../filename.bin flash:' or similar file transfer method
  6. 6. Configure the device to boot from the new image using 'boot system flash:filename.bin'
  7. 7. Reload the device using 'reload' command to apply the fixed software version
  8. 8. After reload, verify the new version is running with 'show version' and confirm the vulnerability is addressed
Caveat Review Cisco release notes for any service-affecting changes or migration considerations between versions

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2022-20848 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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