CVE-2022-20846 | Cisco IOS XR Software Cisco Discovery Protocol Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the Cisco Discovery Protocol implementation for Cisco IOS XR Software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to reload on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to a heap buffer overflow in certain Cisco Discovery Protocol messages. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a malicious Cisco Discovery Protocol packet to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a heap overflow, which could cause the Cisco Discovery Protocol process to reload on the device. The bytes that can be written in the buffer overflow are restricted, which limits remote code execution.Note: Cisco Discovery Protocol is a Layer 2 protocol. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be in the same broadcast domain as the affected device (Layer 2 adjacent).  Cisco has released software updates that address this vulnerability. There are no workarounds that address this vulnerability.This advisory is part of the September 2022 release of the Cisco IOS XR Software Security Advisory Bundled Publication. For a complete list of the advisories and links to them, see .

Published: 2024-11-15 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-20846 is rated Low Risk (36/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.96%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-20846

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 1.98% 0.96% -1.02%
2 2025-12-28 1.47% 1.98% +0.51%
3 2025-12-27 1.47%

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-20846

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
2.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-20846

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-20846

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco ios_xr 6.5.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.15 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.25 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.26 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.28 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.28:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.29 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.29:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.31 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.32 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.90 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.92 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.92:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.5.93 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.5.93:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.11 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.12 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.6.25 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.6.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.7.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.7.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.7.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.7.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.7.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.7.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.7.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.7.35 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.7.35:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.8.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.8.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.8.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 6.9.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:6.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.0 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.11 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.12 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.14 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.0.90 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.0.90:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.1.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.1.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.1.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.1.15 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.1.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.1.25 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.1.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.2.0 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.2.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.2.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.2.12 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.2.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.3 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.15 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.16 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.3.27 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.3.27:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.4.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.4.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.4.15 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.4.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.4.16 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.4.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.5.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.5.2 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.5.12 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.5.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.6.1 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco ios_xr 7.6.15 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:ios_xr:7.6.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-20846

cvelogic Threat Intelligence