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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2022-22174

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A vulnerability in the processing of inbound IPv6 packets in Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX5000 Series and EX4600 switches may cause the memory to not be freed, leading to a packet DMA memory leak, and eventual Denial of Service (DoS) condition. Once the condition occurs, further packet processing will be impacted, creating a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. The following error logs may be observed using the "show heap" command and the device may eventually run out of memory if such packets are received continuously. Jan 12 12:00:00 device-name fpc0 (buf alloc) failed allocating packet buffer Jan 12 12:00:01 device-name fpc0 (buf alloc) failed allocating packet buffer user@device-name> request pfe execute target fpc0 timeout 30 command "show heap" ID Base Total(b) Free(b) Used(b) % Name -- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- --- ----------- 0 246fc1a8 536870488 353653752 183216736 34 Kernel 1 91800000 16777216 12069680 4707536 28 DMA 2 92800000 75497472 69997640 5499832 7 PKT DMA DESC 3 106fc000 335544320 221425960 114118360 34 Bcm_sdk 4 97000000 176160768 200 176160568 99 Packet DMA <<<<<<<<<<<<<< 5 903fffe0 20971504 20971504 0 0 Blob This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX5000 Series, EX4600: 18.3R3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S6; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S9, 18.4R3-S9; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R2-S3, 19.1R3-S7; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S8, 19.2R3-S3; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S7, 19.3R3-S4; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-S5, 19.4R3-S6; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R3-S1; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S2; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S1; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R2-S1, 21.1R3; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R1-S1, 21.2R2. This issue does not affect Juniper Networks Junos OS: Any versions prior to 17.4R3; 18.1 versions prior to 18.1R3-S6; 18.2 versions prior to 18.2R3; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R2.

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 memory leak in Junos OS on QFX5000 Series and EX4600 switches occurs during inbound IPv6 packet processing, causing packet DMA memory to not be freed. The leak progressively consumes heap memory (visible via 'show heap' command with Packet DMA reaching 99%), eventually causing 'buf alloc' failures and a sustained DoS condition.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to a patched version as specified in the vendor advisory (e.g., 18.3R3-S6, 18.4R3-S9, 19.4R3-S6, 20.4R3, or later). Monitor heap usage with 'show heap' command to verify fix effectiveness.

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:= 18.3= 18.4= 19.1= 19.2= 19.3= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2= 20.3= 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
None
Availability
High

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

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 model is affected
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or check the physical device labeling to verify the model is either a QFX5000 Series switch (e.g., QFX5100, QFX5110, QFX5200) or an EX4600 switch.
    Affected if Device is a QFX5000 Series or EX4600 switch
  2. Check installed Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' and locate the Junos OS version string (e.g., 18.4R3-S9).
    Affected if Version matches any of these: 18.3, 18.4, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2
  3. Verify IPv6 is enabled
    Run 'show configuration protocols inet6' or 'show interface terse | match inet6' to check if IPv6 protocol is configured on any interface.
    Affected if IPv6 is enabled and interfaces have inet6 addresses configured
  4. Inspect heap memory usage
    Run 'show heap' command and examine the 'Packet DMA' line. Note the percentage value shown.
    Affected if Packet DMA percentage is near 99% or showing continuous growth
  5. Check for buf alloc failure messages
    Run 'show log messages' or 'show system buffers' and search for 'buf alloc' failure messages in the system logs.
    Affected if 'buf alloc' failure messages are present in logs

Environment is affected if the device is a QFX5000 Series or EX4600 running a listed Junos version, IPv6 is enabled, and heap monitoring shows Packet DMA approaching 99% or buf alloc failures are logged.

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 to a patched version as specified in the vendor advisory (e.g., 18.3R3-S6, 18.4R3-S9, 19.4R3-S6, 20.4R3, or later). Monitor heap usage with 'show heap' command to verify fix effectiveness.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 18.3R3-S6 (or later) for 18.3 branch; 18.4R3-S9 (or later) for 18.4 branch; 19.1R3-S7 (or later) for 19.1 branch; 19.2R3-S3 (or later) for 19.2 branch

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version running on the QFX5000 Series or EX4600 switch using 'show version'
  2. 2. Based on the current version branch, upgrade to the minimum fixed version: For 18.3.x upgrade to 18.3R3-S6; For 18.4.x upgrade to 18.4R3-S9; For 19.1.x upgrade to 19.1R3-S7; For 19.2.x upgrade to 19.2R3-S3
  3. 3. Download the appropriate upgrade image from the Juniper Networks support portal (https://www.juniper.net/customers/csc/access/)
  4. 4. Transfer the upgrade image to the device using 'file copy' or USB storage
  5. 5. Install the upgrade using 'request system software add <package-name>' command
  6. 6. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot' to apply the changes
  7. 7. After reboot, verify the new version is installed using 'show version'
  8. 8. Monitor system logs and memory usage using 'show heap' to confirm the memory leak is resolved
Caveat Review Juniper release notes for any configuration changes or deprecated features between current and target versions before upgrading

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

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-2022-22174 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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