Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-20622

HighDDoS

Published: 15 April 2022

Published
15 April 2022
Modified
21 November 2024
KEV Added
Patch
CVSS Score v3.1 8.6 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0187 83.5th percentile
Risk Priority 18 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2022-20622 is a high-severity Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (CWE-770) vulnerability in Cisco Aironet Access Point Software. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 16.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

A vulnerability in IP ingress packet processing of the Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller with Catalyst Access Points Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause the device to reload unexpectedly, causing a denial of service (DoS) condition. The device…

more

may experience a performance degradation in traffic processing or high CPU usage prior to the unexpected reload. This vulnerability is due to improper rate limiting of IP packets to the management interface. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a steady stream of IP traffic at a high rate to the management interface of the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the device to reload.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.

Affected Assets

cisco
aironet access point software
17.3 — 17.3.4 · 17.4 — 17.6.1

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-770

This control implements explicit throttling on session allocation, addressing the weakness of allocating resources without limits.

addresses: CWE-770

Plan testing exercises resource allocation limits and throttling during simulated failures, directly addressing weaknesses that allow unbounded resource use.

addresses: CWE-770

Contingency plan updates ensure recovery strategies address unbounded resource allocation, making it harder for attackers to exploit lack of throttling to cause prolonged outages.

addresses: CWE-770

Provides continuity when unbounded resource allocation at the primary site leads to exhaustion and downtime.

addresses: CWE-770

Alternate services allow operations to continue when primary allocation of resources lacks limits or throttling.

addresses: CWE-770

Explicit planning of security-related actions requires defining limits, windows, and resource allocations, making allocation without throttling far less likely.

addresses: CWE-770

Measures of performance include tracking allocation behavior and throttling effectiveness, reducing the window for resource exhaustion attacks.

addresses: CWE-770

Imposes an inactivity-based limit on network resource allocation, throttling the number of concurrently held connections.

References