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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2020-1688

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
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
On Juniper Networks SRX Series and NFX Series, a local authenticated user with access to the shell may obtain the Web API service private key that is used to provide encrypted communication between the Juniper device and the authenticator services. Exploitation of this vulnerability may allow an attacker to decrypt the communications between the Juniper device and the authenticator service. This Web API service is used for authentication services such as the Juniper Identity Management Service, used to obtain user identity for Integrated User Firewall feature, or the integrated ClearPass authentication and enforcement feature. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on Networks SRX Series and NFX Series: 12.3X48 versions prior to 12.3X48-D105; 15.1X49 versions prior to 15.1X49-D190; 16.1 versions prior to 16.1R7-S8; 17.2 versions prior to 17.2R3-S4; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S8; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R2-S11, 17.4R3; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S7; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R2-S4, 18.3R3; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S7, 18.4R2; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R2; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S4, 19.2R2.

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 local authenticated user with shell access on Juniper SRX or NFX Series devices can obtain the Web API service private key used for encrypted communication with authentication services like Juniper Identity Management Service and ClearPass. This key exposure allows decryption of authentication traffic between the device and these services.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied Junos OS patches for affected versions (12.3X48-D105+, 15.1X49-D190+, 16.1R7-S8+, 17.x/18.x/19.x patched releases). Limit shell access to essential personnel only and rotate any potentially exposed credentials.

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:= 12.3x48= 15.1x49= 16.1= 17.2= 17.3= 17.4= 18.1= 18.2= 18.3= 18.4= 19.1= 19.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or 'show system information' to confirm the device is a Juniper SRX Series or NFX Series device
    Affected if Device is not an SRX or NFX Series device - this CVE does not apply
  2. Check Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' to obtain the installed Junos OS version and compare against the affected versions: 12.3X48, 15.1X49, 16.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 19.1, 19.2
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions listed in the CVE
  3. Verify shell access is available
    Check if local user accounts have shell access enabled by reviewing /etc/passwd or using 'show system login' command
    Affected if Local authenticated users have shell access - the vulnerability requires a user with shell privileges to exploit
  4. Confirm Web API service presence
    Check if the Web API service is running by looking for processes or configuration related to 'web-api' using 'show system processes' or checking /var/db/ directory for API service files
    Affected if Web API service is present and running on the device
  5. Check authentication service configuration
    Verify if Juniper Identity Management Service or ClearPass authentication integration is configured using 'show configuration' commands related to user-authentication or identity-management
    Affected if Either Juniper Identity Management Service or ClearPass authentication is configured - the exposed key would allow decryption of this traffic

A defender is affected if they have an SRX or NFX device running a Junos version matching the affected list, with shell access enabled for local users, and Web API service present with authentication services configured.

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 OS patches for affected versions (12.3X48-D105+, 15.1X49-D190+, 16.1R7-S8+, 17.x/18.x/19.x patched releases). Limit shell access to essential personnel only and rotate any potentially exposed credentials.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2020-1688 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