Cisco WLC wncd Unauthenticated DoS via IPv6 Exploit
CVE-2025-20140 Published on May 7, 2025

A vulnerability in the Wireless Network Control daemon (wncd) of Cisco IOS XE Software for Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent wireless attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition. This vulnerability is due to improper memory management. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a series of IPv6 network requests from an associated wireless IPv6 client to an affected device. To associate a client to a device, an attacker may first need to authenticate to the network, or associate freely in the case of a configured open network. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the wncd process to consume available memory and eventually cause the device to stop responding, resulting in a DoS condition.

NVD

Vulnerability Analysis

Attack Vector:
ADJACENT_NETWORK
Attack Complexity:
LOW
Privileges Required:
NONE
User Interaction:
NONE
Scope:
CHANGED
Confidentiality Impact:
NONE
Integrity Impact:
NONE
Availability Impact:
HIGH

Weakness Type

What is a Stack Exhaustion Vulnerability?

The product allocates memory based on an untrusted, large size value, but it does not ensure that the size is within expected limits, allowing arbitrary amounts of memory to be allocated.

CVE-2025-20140 has been classified to as a Stack Exhaustion vulnerability or weakness.


Products Associated with CVE-2025-20140

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Cisco IOS XE
 

Affected Versions

Cisco IOS XE Software:

Exploit Probability

EPSS
0.10%
Percentile
28.21%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.