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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2019-0073

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The PKI keys exported using the command "run request security pki key-pair export" on Junos OS may have insecure file permissions. This may allow another user on the Junos OS device with shell access to read them. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS 15.1X49 versions prior to 15.1X49-D180; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S7; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R2-S8, 17.4R3; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S8; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R2; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2.

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

PKI private keys exported using the Junos OS command 'run request security pki key-pair export' are stored with insecure file permissions (likely world-readable), allowing any user with shell access on the device to read exported private key material. This is a confidentiality vulnerability affecting specific versions of Junos OS across multiple release trains.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to the patched versions (15.1X49-D180 and later, 17.3R3-S7 and later, 17.4R2-S8/17.4R3 and later, 18.1R3-S8 and later, 18.2R3 and later, 18.3R2 and later, 18.4R2 and later). Until patched, avoid using the key-pair export command or ensure exported keys are immediately moved and permissions corrected.

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= 17.3= 17.4= 18.1= 18.2= 18.3= 18.4

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

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

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 OS version
    Run 'show version' or 'show version detail' on the device to identify the installed Junos release
    Affected if Version matches 15.1x49, 17.3, 17.4, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, or 18.4 (any variant within these release trains)
  2. Identify exported PKI key files
    Search the filesystem for private key files that may have been exported using the 'request security pki key-pair export' command. Common locations include /var/tmp and /var/home. Use 'find /var -name "*.key" -o -name "*private*"' to locate key files
    Affected if Any private key files exist on the system from prior exports
  3. Verify file permissions on exported keys
    Run 'ls -la' on any identified key files to inspect their permissions
    Affected if Files are readable by others (permissions show 'r--r--r--' or similar world-readable settings, or any permission allowing access beyond the owner)
  4. Check recent PKI export command usage
    Review system logs and audit logs for instances of the 'request security pki key-pair export' command being executed. Use 'show log messages | match pki' or similar log filtering
    Affected if The command has been run and key material was exported to disk

You are affected if your Junos version falls within the affected release trains and the PKI key-pair export command has been used, resulting in private key files with overly permissive access on the filesystem.

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 the patched versions (15.1X49-D180 and later, 17.3R3-S7 and later, 17.4R2-S8/17.4R3 and later, 18.1R3-S8 and later, 18.2R3 and later, 18.3R2 and later, 18.4R2 and later). Until patched, avoid using the key-pair export command or ensure exported keys are immediately moved and permissions corrected.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2019-0073 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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