CVE-2026-26048
Published: 20 February 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-26048 is a high-severity Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) vulnerability in Cisa (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Direct Network Flood (T1498.001); ranked at the 13.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
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.
Requires established identification and authentication to unlock, mitigating missing authentication for continued system access.
Requiring identification and rationale for actions allowed without authentication ensures critical functions are not left unprotected by forcing review of authentication requirements.
Authorizing mobile device connections to organizational systems ensures authentication is performed for this critical access function.
Guarantees critical functions are protected by mandatory invocation of the access control mechanism.
Auditing sessions makes it possible to detect access to critical functions without required authentication.
The assessment process confirms authentication is present and effective for critical functions, preventing exploitation from missing authentication.
Certification assesses that critical functions have required authentication controls in place.
Disabling non-essential functions and services eliminates the need to secure them, reducing exposure from missing authentication on unnecessary components.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Vulnerability directly enables forged deauth/disassoc frame injection (deauth flood) against unprotected Wi-Fi management frames, producing network-wide denial of service without authentication.
NVD Description
The Wi-Fi router is vulnerable to de-authentication attacks due to the absence of management frame protection, allowing forged deauthentication and disassociation frames to be broadcast without authentication or encryption. An attacker can use this to cause unauthorized disruptions and create…
more
a denial-of-service condition.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-26048 is a vulnerability in Wi-Fi routers stemming from the absence of management frame protection, which permits the broadcasting of forged deauthentication and disassociation frames without authentication or encryption. This flaw, associated with CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function), enables attackers to disrupt network connectivity. The vulnerability received a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) and was published on 2026-02-20.
Any attacker within wireless range can exploit this vulnerability by transmitting spoofed management frames, leading to unauthorized client disconnections and a denial-of-service condition across the affected network. No privileges, user interaction, or special access are required, making it accessible to remote, unauthenticated adversaries with low complexity.
Mitigation details are outlined in the CISA ICS advisory ICSA-26-050-03, available at https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-26-050-03, with the full JSON artifact at https://github.com/cisagov/CSAF/blob/develop/csaf_files/OT/white/2026/icsa-26-050-03.json. Security practitioners should consult these resources for vendor-specific patches or workarounds.
Details
- CWE(s)