JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2021-0295

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-07-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 vulnerability in the Distance Vector Multicast Routing Protocol (DVMRP) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on the QFX10K Series switches allows an attacker to trigger a packet forwarding loop, leading to a partial Denial of Service (DoS). The issue is caused by DVMRP packets looping on a multi-homed Ethernet Segment Identifier (ESI) when VXLAN is configured. DVMRP packets received on a multi-homed ESI are sent to the peer, and then incorrectly forwarded out the same ESI, violating the split horizon rule. This issue only affects QFX10K Series switches, including the QFX10002, QFX10008, and QFX10016. Other products and platforms are unaffected by this vulnerability. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX10K Series: 17.3 versions prior to 17.3R3-S12; 17.4 versions prior to 17.4R3-S5; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S13; 18.2 version 18.2R1 and later versions; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S9, 18.4R3-S8; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S5; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S7, 19.2R3-S2; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S2; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2-S2, 20.1R3; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R2.

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

A vulnerability in Juniper Junos OS DVMRP implementation on QFX10K Series switches causes packet forwarding loops when DVMRP packets are received on a multi-homed Ethernet Segment Identifier (ESI) configured with VXLAN. The packets are incorrectly forwarded back out the same ESI after being sent to the peer, violating the split-horizon rule and causing a partial DoS.

MitigationApply the appropriate Juniper software update or SRU for your Junos OS version as listed in the advisory. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling DVMRP if not required or implementing traffic filtering on the affected ESI segments.

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:= 17.3= 17.4= 18.1= 18.2= 18.3= 18.4= 19.1= 19.2= 19.3= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/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 the device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check the device model to confirm it is a QFX10K Series switch
    Affected if The device is NOT a QFX10K Series switch (this CVE only affects QFX10K)
  2. Verify the Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' and compare the installed version against the affected range: 17.3, 17.4, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.1, 20.2
    Affected if The installed Junos version matches one of the listed affected versions
  3. Check if DVMRP is enabled
    Run 'show protocols dvmrp' to see if DVMRP protocol is configured and active on the device
    Affected if DVMRP protocol is enabled and running
  4. Confirm VXLAN configuration
    Run 'show configuration vlans' or 'show configuration protocols evpn' to check if VXLAN is configured
    Affected if VXLAN is configured on the device
  5. Verify multi-homed Ethernet Segment Identifier (ESI)
    Run 'show configuration interfaces | display set' and look for 'esi' configuration under Ethernet Segment interfaces, or check 'show evpn instance' for multi-homed ESI status
    Affected if A multi-homed ESI is configured on the VXLAN-enabled interface

The environment is affected if the device is a QFX10K Series running an affected Junos version (17.3-20.2) with DVMRP enabled on a VXLAN configuration that includes multi-homed ESI.

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 appropriate Juniper software update or SRU for your Junos OS version as listed in the advisory. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling DVMRP if not required or implementing traffic filtering on the affected ESI segments.

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2021-0295 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
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