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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2018-0022

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
A Junos device with VPLS routing-instances configured on one or more interfaces may be susceptible to an mbuf leak when processing a specific MPLS packet. Approximately 1 mbuf is leaked per each packet processed. The number of mbufs is platform dependent. The following command provides the number of mbufs that are currently in use and maximum number of mbufs that can be allocated on a platform: > show system buffers 2437/3143/5580 mbufs in use (current/cache/total) Once the device runs out of mbufs it will become inaccessible and a restart will be required. This issue only affects end devices, transit devices are not affected. Affected releases are Juniper Networks Junos OS with VPLS configured running: 12.1X46 versions prior to 12.1X46-D76; 12.3X48 versions prior to 12.3X48-D66, 12.3X48-D70; 14.1 versions prior to 14.1R9; 14.1X53 versions prior to 14.1X53-D47; 14.2 versions prior to 14.2R8; 15.1 versions prior to 15.1F2-S19, 15.1F6-S10, 15.1R4-S9, 15.1R5-S7, 15.1R6-S4, 15.1R7; 15.1X49 versions prior to 15.1X49-D131, 15.1X49-D140; 15.1X53 versions prior to 15.1X53-D58 on EX2300/EX3400; 15.1X53 versions prior to 15.1X53-D233 on QFX5200/QFX5110; 15.1X53 versions prior to 15.1X53-D471 on NFX; 15.1X53 versions prior to 15.1X53-D66 on QFX10; 16.1 versions prior to 16.1R3-S8, 16.1R4-S6, 16.1R5; 16.2 versions prior to 16.2R1-S6, 16.2R2-S5, 16.2R3; 17.1 versions prior to 17.1R1-S7, 17.1R2-S6, 17.1R3; 17.2 versions prior to 17.2R1-S5, 17.2R2.

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 · high confidence

A memory leak (mbuf leak) in Juniper Junos OS occurs when processing specific MPLS packets on devices with VPLS routing-instances configured. Each vulnerable packet leaks approximately 1 mbuf, gradually exhausting available mbufs until the device becomes inaccessible and requires a restart.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to a patched version as specified in the advisory; no configuration-based workarounds are available.

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:= 15.1x49= 14.1= 14.1x53= 15.1x53= 16.1= 16.2= 17.1= 15.1= 12.1x46= 12.3x48= 14.2= 17.2

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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. Identify the Junos OS version
    Execute 'show version' or 'show version detail' on the device CLI to retrieve the installed Junos version number
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these affected releases: 12.1x46, 12.3x48, 14.1, 14.1x53, 14.2, 15.1, 15.1x53, 15.1x49, 16.1, 16.2, 17.1, or 17.2
  2. Verify VPLS routing-instances are configured
    Run 'show configuration routing-instances' or search the configuration for 'instance-type vpls' using 'show configuration | match "instance-type vpls"'
    Affected if Any routing-instance is configured with 'instance-type vpls' in the configuration
  3. Confirm MPLS is enabled
    Run 'show configuration protocols mpls' to verify MPLS protocol is enabled on the device
    Affected if MPLS protocol is enabled and operational on the device
  4. Monitor mbuf consumption
    Run 'show system buffers' or 'show system memory' periodically to observe mbuf allocation trends; a gradual increase without recovery indicates the leak
    Affected if The mbuf pool shows continuous growth in use over time without returning to baseline levels, especially when MPLS traffic is being processed

The device is affected if it runs an affected Junos version listed above AND has VPLS routing-instances configured with MPLS enabled, causing mbuf exhaustion during MPLS packet processing.

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

Upgrade Junos OS to a patched version as specified in the advisory; no configuration-based workarounds are available.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2018-0022 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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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