A vulnerability with the Ethernet VPN (EVPN) Layer 2 ingress packet processing of Cisco Nexus 3600 Platform Switches and Cisco Nexus 9500-R Series Switching Platforms could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to trigger a Layer 2 traffic loop.

This vulnerability is due to a logic error when processing a crafted Layer 2 ingress frame. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a stream of crafted Ethernet frames through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a Layer 2 Virtual eXtensible LAN (VxLAN) traffic loop, which, in turn, could result in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This Layer 2 loop could oversubscribe the bandwidth on network interfaces, which would result in all data plane traffic being dropped. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be Layer 2-adjacent to the affected device.
Note: To stop active exploitation of this vulnerability, manual intervention is required to both stop the crafted traffic and flap all involved network interfaces. For additional assistance if a Layer 2 loop that is related to this vulnerability is suspected, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or the proper support provider. 

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History

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description A vulnerability with the Ethernet VPN (EVPN) Layer 2 ingress packet processing of Cisco Nexus 3600 Platform Switches and Cisco Nexus 9500-R Series Switching Platforms could allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to trigger a Layer 2 traffic loop. This vulnerability is due to a logic error when processing a crafted Layer 2 ingress frame. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a stream of crafted Ethernet frames through the targeted device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause a Layer 2 Virtual eXtensible LAN (VxLAN) traffic loop, which, in turn, could result in a denial of service (DoS) condition. This Layer 2 loop could oversubscribe the bandwidth on network interfaces, which would result in all data plane traffic being dropped. To exploit this vulnerability, the attacker must be Layer 2-adjacent to the affected device. Note: To stop active exploitation of this vulnerability, manual intervention is required to both stop the crafted traffic and flap all involved network interfaces. For additional assistance if a Layer 2 loop that is related to this vulnerability is suspected, contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) or the proper support provider. 
Title Cisco Nexus 3600-R and 9500-R Series Switching Platforms Layer 2 Loop Denial of Service Vulnerability
Weaknesses CWE-457
References
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.4, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H'}


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cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: cisco

Published:

Updated: 2026-02-25T16:14:33.859Z

Reserved: 2025-10-08T11:59:15.355Z

Link: CVE-2026-20051

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-02-25T17:25:26.487

Modified: 2026-02-25T17:25:26.487

Link: CVE-2026-20051

cve-icon Redhat

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cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

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Weaknesses