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CVE-2026-20281

HIGH 7.5

Published 2026-09-02 · Last modified 2026-09-02

A vulnerability in Cisco Desk Phone 9800 Series, Cisco IP Phone 7800 and 8800 Series, and Cisco Video Phone 8875 that are running Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Software could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to improper memory management when an affected device processes HTTP packets. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a continuous stream of crafted HTTP packets to the device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the affected device to continuously consume memory, resulting in a DoS condition. A manual reboot of the device is required to recover from this condition. Note: For this vulnerability to be exploitable, the phone must be registered to Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Unified CM) and have Web Access enabled. Web Access is disabled by default.

ELEVATED IMPACT

Severe if exploited (CVSS 7.5), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.

Exploitation likelihood

0.3%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 26th percentile

○ In CISA KEV ○ Public exploit / PoC

Impact if exploited

7.5CVSS 3.1 · HIGH

  • ConfidentialityNone
  • IntegrityNone
  • AvailabilityHigh

What an attacker needs

  • ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
  • ✓Privileges: No account or privileges required
  • ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
  • ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable

✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it

Proof of concept & exploit code

Test against your own equipment

curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-20281/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).

Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-20281/poc.json

Affected

Vendors Cisco

Products Cisco Session Initiation Protocol (Sip) Software

Weakness (CWE)

  • CWE-401: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

All CVSS metrics

  • HIGH 7.5 v3.1 · CNA Primary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
  • HIGH 7.5 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
    CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

References

Technical & other

Sources: NVD · CVE.org · EPSS