JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2019-0074

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
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
A path traversal vulnerability in NFX150 Series and QFX10K Series, EX9200 Series, MX Series and PTX Series devices with Next-Generation Routing Engine (NG-RE) allows a local authenticated user to read sensitive system files. This issue only affects NFX150 Series and QFX10K Series, EX9200 Series, MX Series and PTX Series with Next-Generation Routing Engine (NG-RE) which uses vmhost. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX150 Series and QFX10K, EX9200 Series, MX Series and PTX Series with NG-RE and vmhost: 15.1F versions prior to 15.1F6-S12 16.1 versions starting from 16.1R6 and later releases, including the Service Releases, prior to 16.1R6-S6, 16.1R7-S3; 17.1 versions prior to 17.1R3; 17.2 versions starting from 17.2R1-S3, 17.2R3 and later releases, including the Service Releases, prior to 17.2R3-S1; 17.3 versions starting from 17.3R1-S1, 17.3R2 and later releases, including the Service Releases, prior to 17.3R3-S3; 17.4 versions starting from 17.4R1 and later releases, including the Service Releases, prior to 17.4R1-S6, 17.4R2-S2, 17.4R3; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R2-S4, 18.1R3-S3; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R2; 18.2X75 versions prior to 18.2X75-D40; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R1-S2, 18.3R2; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S1, 18.4R2. This issue does not affect: Juniper Networks Junos OS 15.1 and 16.2.

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 path traversal vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX150, QFX10K, EX9200, MX, and PTX Series devices with Next-Generation Routing Engine (NG-RE) allows a locally authenticated user to escape directory boundaries and read sensitive system files outside the intended directory scope.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to a fixed version as specified in the Juniper advisory (e.g., 17.4R1-S6, 17.4R2-S2, 17.4R3, or later). Implement least-privilege access controls for local user accounts as a compensating control until patching is possible.

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:= 15.1= 16.1= 17.1= 17.2= 17.3= 17.4= 18.1= 18.2= 18.2x75= 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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. Identify the device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check the device label to confirm the model is one of: NFX150, QFX10K, EX9200, MX Series, or PTX Series
    Affected if The device model is NOT one of the listed series - otherwise proceed to next check
  2. Verify Next-Generation Routing Engine (NG-RE) is in use
    Run 'show system routing-engine' and look for 'Next-Gen Routing Engine' or 'NG-RE' in the output. Alternatively, check 'request system software add' output during upgrades for NG-RE indicators
    Affected if NG-RE is NOT present - the vulnerability does not apply to classic Routing Engines
  3. Check the Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' or 'show version detail' to obtain the installed Junos version number
    Affected if The version is NOT one of: 15.1, 16.1, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4, 18.1, 18.2, 18.2x75, 18.3, or 18.4 - otherwise the device is in the affected version range
  4. Confirm local user authentication is configured
    Run 'show system login' or check '/etc/passwd' via shell to see if local user accounts exist (as opposed to remote authentication only)
    Affected if No local user accounts exist and only remote authentication (RADIUS/TACACS+) is used, the exploitation path is limited but the vulnerability still exists in the code

The device is affected if it is an NFX150, QFX10K, EX9200, MX, or PTX Series running NG-RE with Junos version 15.1 through 18.4 (inclusive).

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 fixed version as specified in the Juniper advisory (e.g., 17.4R1-S6, 17.4R2-S2, 17.4R3, or later). Implement least-privilege access controls for local user accounts as a compensating control until patching is possible.

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-2019-0074 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data