CVE-2023-20268 | Cisco Access Point Software Uncontrolled Resource Consumption Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the packet processing functionality of Cisco access point (AP) software could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to exhaust resources on an affected device.  This vulnerability is due to insufficient management of resources when handling certain types of traffic. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a series of specific wireless packets to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to consume resources on an affected device. A sustained attack could lead to the disruption of the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) tunnel and intermittent loss of wireless client traffic.

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-2023-20268 is rated Low Risk (24/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.24%). 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-2023-20268

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 0.03% 0.24% +0.21%
2 2025-11-21 0.07% 0.03% -0.05%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.07% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-20268

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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: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.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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: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.
 2.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-20268

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-20268

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cisco wireless_lan_controller_software < 8.10.190.0 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:wireless_lan_controller_software:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9800_embedded_wireless_controller_firmware < 17.3.8 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9800_embedded_wireless_controller_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9800_embedded_wireless_controller_firmware >= 17.4.0, < 17.6.6 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9800_embedded_wireless_controller_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco catalyst_9800_embedded_wireless_controller_firmware >= 17.8.0, < 17.9.4 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:catalyst_9800_embedded_wireless_controller_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco business_150ax_firmware < 10.6.2.0 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:business_150ax_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cisco business_151axm_firmware < 10.6.2.0 cpe:2.3:o:cisco:business_151axm_firmware:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-20268

cvelogic Threat Intelligence