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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2021-0273

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-04-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
An always-incorrect control flow implementation in the implicit filter terms of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved on ACX5800, EX9200 Series, MX10000 Series, MX240, MX480, MX960 devices with affected Trio line cards allows an attacker to exploit an interdependency in the PFE UCODE microcode of the Trio chipset with various line cards to cause packets destined to the devices interfaces to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) condition by looping the packet with an unreachable exit condition ('Infinite Loop'). To break this loop once it begins one side of the affected LT interfaces will need to be disabled. Once disabled, the condition will clear and the disabled LT interface can be reenabled. Continued receipt and processing of these packets will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue only affects LT-LT interfaces. Any other interfaces are not affected by this issue. This issue affects the following cards: MPCE Type 3 3D MPC4E 3D 32XGE MPC4E 3D 2CGE+8XGE EX9200 32x10G SFP EX9200-2C-8XS FPC Type 5-3D FPC Type 5-LSR EX9200 4x40G QSFP An Indicator of Compromise (IoC) can be seen by examining the traffic of the LT-LT interfaces for excessive traffic using the following command: monitor interface traffic Before loop impact: Interface: lt-2/0/0, Enabled, Link is Up Encapsulation: Logical-tunnel, Speed: 100000mbps Traffic statistics: Current delta Input bytes: 3759900268942 (1456 bps) [0] <---------- LT interface utilization is low Output bytes: 3759900344309 (1456 bps) [0] <---------- LT interface utilization is low After loop impact: Interface: lt-2/0/0, Enabled, Link is Up Encapsulation: Logical-tunnel, Speed: 100000mbps Traffic statistics: Current delta Input bytes: 3765160313129 (2158268368 bps) [5260044187] <---------- LT interface utilization is very high Output bytes: 3765160399522 (2158266440 bps) [5260055213] <---------- LT interface utilization is very high This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS on ACX5800, EX9200 Series, MX10000 Series, MX240, MX480, MX960. Versions 15.1F6, 16.1R1, and later versions prior to 16.1R7-S8; 17.1 versions prior to 17.1R2-S12; 17.2 versions prior to 17.2R3-S4; 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S8; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R2-S10, 17.4R3-S2; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S10; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R2-S7, 18.2R3-S3; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R1-S7, 18.3R3-S2; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R1-S7, 18.4R2-S4, 18.4R3-S2; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R1-S5, 19.1R2-S1, 19.1R3; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S4, 19.2R2; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S3, 19.3R3; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R1-S1, 19.4R2. This issue does not affect the MX10001. This issue does not affect Juniper Networks Junos OS versions prior to 15.1F6, 16.1R1. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved on ACX5800, EX9200 Series, MX10000 Series, MX240, MX480, MX960 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-EVO. This issue does not affect the MX10001.

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 control flow flaw in the PFE UCODE microcode of Trio line cards causes packets traversing LT-LT (Logical Tunnel) interfaces on affected Juniper devices (ACX5800, EX9200, MX series) to enter an infinite loop with unreachable exit conditions. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause sustained DoS by sending specially crafted traffic that exploits this interdependency in the chipset microcode, causing packet loop (2.1 billion bps utilization) until one side of the LT interface is disabled.

MitigationApply Juniper-provided firmware updates for the Trio line card microcode; as a temporary workaround, disable one side of affected LT-LT interfaces to clear the infinite loop condition.

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= 15.2= 16.1= 17.1= 17.2= 17.3= 17.4= 18.1= 18.2= 18.3= 18.4= 19.1
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system
Affected:= 19.4

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

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

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 hardware platform
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check physical device model to confirm it is an ACX5800, EX9200, or MX series router with Trio line cards
    Affected if Device is not an ACX5800, EX9200, or MX series with Trio chipsets
  2. Verify Junos software version
    Run 'show version' and compare the installed Junos version against the affected list: 15.1, 15.2, 16.1, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 19.1 (Junos) or 19.4 (Junos OS Evolved)
    Affected if Installed version matches one of the affected versions listed
  3. Confirm Trio line card presence
    Run 'show chassis fpc' or 'show fabric plane' to verify Trio-based line cards are installed and online
    Affected if Trio line cards are present in the system
  4. Check for Logical Tunnel interface configuration
    Run 'show interfaces lt*' or 'show configuration interfaces lt-' to list configured Logical Tunnel interfaces
    Affected if LT interfaces are configured and active

Environment is affected if the device is an ACX5800/EX9200/MX with Trio line cards, runs affected Junos versions (15.1-19.1 or 19.4 for Evolved), and has LT-LT interfaces 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 Juniper-provided firmware updates for the Trio line card microcode; as a temporary workaround, disable one side of affected LT-LT interfaces to clear the infinite loop condition.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2021-0273 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What belongs here
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