dbcve.org
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2022-22164

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-19
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 Improper Initialization vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved may cause a commit operation for disabling the telnet service to not take effect as expected, resulting in the telnet service staying enabled. When it is not intended to be operating on the device, an administrator can issue the following command to verify whether telnet is operating in the background: user@device > show system connections | grep :23 tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:23 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN 20879/xinetd This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved All versions prior to 20.4R2-S2-EVO; 21.1 version 21.1R1-EVO and later versions; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R2-EVO.

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

In Junos OS Evolved, an improper initialization flaw in the commit operation prevents the telnet service disable command from taking effect. When an administrator attempts to disable telnet via configuration commit, the service remains enabled and listening on port 23, creating an unintended attack surface.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS Evolved to version 20.4R2-S2-EVO or later, 21.1R3-EVO or later, or 21.2R2-EVO or later. Until upgraded, manually verify telnet is not running using 'show system connections | grep :23' and consider additional network controls.

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
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system
Affected:= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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. Confirm device runs Junos OS Evolved
    Run 'show version' and look for 'Junos OS Evolved' in the output (not regular Junos OS)
    Affected if Device is running regular Junos OS (not Evolved) - this CVE only affects Junos OS Evolved
  2. Check installed version against affected releases
    Run 'show version' and compare the version number to 20.4, 21.1, or 21.2
    Affected if Version is exactly 20.4, 21.1, or 21.2 (per the = notation in the advisory)
  3. Verify telnet is configured as disabled
    Run 'show configuration system services telnet' and confirm it shows no output or indicates telnet is disabled in the configuration
    Affected if Telnet configuration cannot be determined or shows enabled - the vulnerability manifests when telnet is configured to be disabled but still runs
  4. Check if telnet is listening on port 23
    Run 'show system connections | grep :23' or 'netstat -an | grep :23' to see if any process is listening on telnet port
    Affected if Port 23 shows LISTEN state - this indicates telnet is active regardless of configuration setting
  5. Compare configuration vs operational state
    If telnet is configured as disabled but port 23 is listening, the device is affected by this vulnerability - the commit operation failed to disable the service
    Affected if Configuration shows telnet disabled but port 23 is listening - the improper initialization flaw is present

Device is affected if it runs Junos OS Evolved version 20.4, 21.1, or 21.2 AND telnet is listening on port 23 even when configured to be disabled.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Junos OS Evolved to version 20.4R2-S2-EVO or later, 21.1R3-EVO or later, or 21.2R2-EVO or later. Until upgraded, manually verify telnet is not running using 'show system connections | grep :23' and consider additional network controls.

Recommended fix High confidence

21.2R2-EVO (or latest stable 21.x/20.4R2-S2-EVO release)

  1. 1. Verify current Junos OS Evolved version with 'show version'
  2. 2. Confirm telnet is unintentionally running with 'show system connections | grep :23'
  3. 3. Plan maintenance window for upgrade (requires reboot)
  4. 4. Download the fixed version image (20.4R2-S2-EVO or later, 21.2R2-EVO or later recommended)
  5. 5. Upload the image to the device using 'request system software add <path>'
  6. 6. Reboot the device to complete installation with 'request system reboot'
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version with 'show version'
  8. 8. Disable telnet service with 'set system services telnet disable' and commit
Caveat Standard Junos OS upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for compatibility, test in lab first, plan for potential configuration migration if jumping major branches

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Junos Os Evolved Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-22164 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data