Cisco Access Point Software Association Request Denial of Service Vulnerability

Vulnerability

A vulnerability in the 802.11 frame handling of Cisco access point (AP) software allows an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause a denial of service. The issue is due to insufficient validation of certain parameters within 802.11 association request frames. Affected devices include various Cisco access point models running vulnerable firmware versions. [1]

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a wireless 802.11 association request frame with crafted parameters to the target access point. No authentication is required, and the attacker must be within wireless range of the device (adjacent network access). The crafted frame triggers an unexpected reload of the AP, causing a denial of service condition. [1]

Impact

Successful exploitation results in an unexpected reload of the affected Cisco access point, leading to a temporary denial of service. No other impact, such as information disclosure or remote code execution, has been reported.

Mitigation

Cisco has released free software updates to address this vulnerability. Customers with service contracts should obtain fixes through their usual update channels. For customers without contracts, please refer to the Cisco Security Advisory [1] for specific fixed versions and guidance. No workarounds are available.