CVE-2023-20176

A vulnerability in the networking component of Cisco access point (AP) software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a temporary disruption of service. This vulnerability is due to overuse of AP resources. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by connecting to an AP on an affected device as a wireless client and sending a high rate of traffic over an extended period of time. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the Datagram TLS (DTLS) session to tear down and reset, causing a denial of service (DoS) condition.

Published: 2023-09-27 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-20176 is rated Low Risk (39.9/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.65%). 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-2023-20176

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 0.12% 0.65% +0.53%
2 2025-11-21 0.28% 0.12% -0.16%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.28% —

Full EPSS history (7 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-20176

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.8 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
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.
 3.9 1.4 [email protected]
8.6 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 4.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-20176

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-20176

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco catalyst_9166_firmware < 17.6.6 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9166_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9164_firmware < 17.6.6 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9164_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9136_firmware < 17.6.6 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9136_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9130_firmware < 17.6.6 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9130_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9124_firmware < 17.6.6 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9124_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-20176

cvelogic Threat Intelligence