Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can let someone nearby disrupt one wireless user's connection to a Cisco Catalyst 9800 wireless controller. It is not described as data theft or device takeover. Business impact is localized service interruption, mainly relevant where wireless availability matters.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate operational availability issue. It is lower urgency than remote code execution or broad denial-of-service, but it should be addressed through normal network maintenance, especially in sites dependent on stable wireless connectivity.
Technical view
Cisco IOS XE Software on Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers improperly validates IEEE 802.11w disassociation and deauthentication Protected Management Frames. An unauthenticated adjacent attacker could spoof a PMF from a valid authenticated client and terminate a single valid user connection. CVSS is 4.7, CWE-20.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to environments using Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers running affected Cisco IOS XE Software, specifically the bundled record lists IOS XE 16.10.1. The attacker must be network-adjacent, so this is not presented as an internet-reachable issue.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires adjacent access and spoofing a protected management frame associated with a valid authenticated client. The documented outcome is disconnecting one valid user session.
Researcher notes
Evidence is narrow: affected product data identifies Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers and IOS XE 16.10.1. The described attack is adjacent, unauthenticated, low complexity, and affects availability only. No exploit code, campaign activity, or detailed remediation text is included in the bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Catalyst 9800 controllers and their Cisco IOS XE versions.
- Review Cisco’s advisory for vendor-approved fixed releases or mitigations.
- Prioritize remediation for locations where wireless availability is operationally important.
- Monitor wireless logs for repeated unexpected deauthentication or disassociation events.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any Catalyst 9800 controller runs IOS XE 16.10.1.
- Compare installed versions against Cisco’s advisory and the CVE record.
- Review WLAN logs for unexplained single-client disconnect patterns.
- Document remediation status or accepted risk for each affected controller.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-20: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-3206 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L2.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
4.7MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- 20200603 Cisco IOS XE Software Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers Denial of Service VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.