Unauth Remote DoS via Connection Flood in Cisco CNC/NSO
CVE-2026-20188 Published on May 6, 2026
Cisco Crosswork Network Controller and Cisco Network Services Orchestrator Advisory
Following the initial publication of the Security Advisory about a denial of service (DoS) condition in Cisco Crosswork Network Controller and Cisco Network Services Orchestrator (NSO), additional information has been made available to the Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT).
Upon further analysis, the Cisco PSIRT has reclassified this issue as a customer-configurable, resource management issue rather than a security vulnerability.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2026-20188 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is considered to have a low attack complexity. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to have no impact on confidentiality and integrity and availability.
Weakness Type
What is a Resource Exhaustion Vulnerability?
The software does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource, thereby enabling an actor to influence the amount of resources consumed, eventually leading to the exhaustion of available resources.
CVE-2026-20188 has been classified to as a Resource Exhaustion vulnerability or weakness.
Products Associated with CVE-2026-20188
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Affected Versions
Cisco Crosswork Network Change Automation:Exploit Probability
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.