JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2014-6384

MEDIUM · 6.9 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-01-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Juniper Junos 12.1X44 before 12.1X44-D45, 12.1X46 before 12.1X46-D25, 12.1X47 before 12.1X47-D15, 12.3 before 12.3R9, 13.1 before 13.1R4-S3, 13.2 before 13.2R6, 13.3 before 13.3R5, 14.1 before 14.1R3, and 14.2 before 14.2R1 does not properly handle double quotes in authorization attributes in the TACACS+ configuration, which allows local users to bypass the security policy and execute commands via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This vulnerability in Juniper Junos allows local users to bypass TACACS+ authorization controls by exploiting improper handling of double quotes in authorization attributes. Successful exploitation permits execution of commands outside the intended security policy, representing a local privilege escalation. The vulnerability affects multiple Junos release trains across versions 12.1X44 through 14.2.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied Junos updates (12.1X44-D45 or later, 12.1X46-D25 or later, etc.) to address the TACACS+ authorization bypass. After upgrading, audit TACACS+ authorization policies and test command execution restrictions to confirm the fix is effective.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
JunosOperating system
Affected:= 12.1x44= 12.1x46= 12.1x47= 12.3= 13.1= 13.2= 13.3= 14.1= 14.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Junos version
    Run the command 'show version' on the Junos device to identify the installed Junos release train and build number (for example, 12.1X44-D15, 13.2R3.4, etc.)
    Affected if The installed version falls within the 12.1X44, 12.1X46, 12.1X47, 12.3, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 14.1, or 14.2 release trains at builds earlier than the fixed releases (12.1X44-D45, 12.1X46-D25, and so on)
  2. Verify TACACS+ authorization is configured
    Run 'show configuration system tacacs-server' or 'show configuration | display set | match tacacs' to determine if TACACS+ authentication and authorization are enabled on the device
    Affected if TACACS+ server(s) are configured and TACACS+ authorization is actively being used for command filtering on the device
  3. Check authorization attribute handling
    Review TACACS+ authorization policy configuration for any command filters or attribute definitions that use quoted strings or may be susceptible to double-quote injection bypasses
    Affected if TACACS+ authorization policies exist and the device is running an affected Junos version (as identified in step 1)

A device is affected if it runs Junos versions 12.1X44 through 14.2 (or early builds of these release trains) with TACACS+ authorization enabled, allowing a local user to potentially bypass command restrictions via malformed double-quote sequences in authorization attributes.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied Junos updates (12.1X44-D45 or later, 12.1X46-D25 or later, etc.) to address the TACACS+ authorization bypass. After upgrading, audit TACACS+ authorization policies and test command execution restrictions to confirm the fix is effective.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-6384 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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