CVE-2026-20086
Received Received - Intake
Denial of Service via Malformed CAPWAP Packets in Cisco CW

Publication date: 2026-03-25

Last updated on: 2026-03-25

Assigner: Cisco Systems, Inc.

Description
A vulnerability in the processing of Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) packets of Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software for the Catalyst CW9800 Family could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper handling of a malformed CAPWAP packet. 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 reload unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-03-25
Last Modified
2026-03-25
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-03-25
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2026-20086
EUVD
EUVD-2026-15433
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
cisco ios_xe_wireless_controller_software *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-230 The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when a parameter, field, or argument name is specified, but the associated value is missing, i.e. it is empty, blank, or null.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the processing of Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) packets in Cisco IOS XE Wireless Controller Software for the Catalyst CW9800 Family.

It is caused by improper handling of malformed CAPWAP packets, which allows an unauthenticated, remote attacker to send such malformed packets to the device.

Exploiting this vulnerability can cause the affected device to reload unexpectedly, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Impact Analysis

The primary impact of this vulnerability is a denial of service (DoS) condition on the affected device.

An attacker can remotely and without authentication cause the device to reload unexpectedly by sending a malformed CAPWAP packet.

This unexpected reload can disrupt network availability and connectivity, potentially affecting business operations that rely on the wireless controller.

Compliance Impact

The provided information does not specify any direct impact of this vulnerability on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by using Cisco’s Software Checker tool, which helps determine exposure and identify fixed software releases for affected devices.

No specific commands for manual detection or network scanning are provided in the available resources.

Mitigation Strategies

The only remediation for this vulnerability is to upgrade to the fixed software releases provided by Cisco for the Catalyst CW9800 Family Wireless Controllers.

No workarounds are available to mitigate this vulnerability.

Customers should ensure their devices have sufficient memory and compatibility before upgrading and may contact Cisco TAC for assistance or entitlement to free upgrades if they have valid licenses.

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