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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2022-22180

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
An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the processing of specific IPv6 packets on certain EX Series devices may lead to exhaustion of DMA memory causing a Denial of Service (DoS). Over time, exploitation of this vulnerability may cause traffic to stop being forwarded, or a crash of the fxpc process. An indication of the issue occurring may be observed through the following log messages: Sep 13 17:14:59 hostname : %PFE-3: fpc0 (buf alloc) failed allocating packet buffer Sep 13 17:14:59 hostname : %PFE-7: fpc0 brcm_pkt_buf_alloc:393 (buf alloc) failed allocating packet buffer When Packet DMA heap utilization reaches 99%, the system will become unstable. Packet DMA heap utilization can be monitored using the command: user@junos# request pfe execute target fpc0 timeout 30 command "show heap" ID Base Total(b) Free(b) Used(b) % Name -- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- --- ----------- 0 213301a8 536870488 387228840 149641648 27 Kernel 1 91800000 8388608 3735120 4653488 55 DMA 2 92000000 75497472 74452192 1045280 1 PKT DMA DESC 3 d330000 335544320 257091400 78452920 23 Bcm_sdk 4 96800000 184549376 2408 184546968 99 Packet DMA <<<< 5 903fffe0 20971504 20971504 0 0 Blob This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R2-S10, 18.4R3-S10 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S7 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S8, 19.2R3-S4 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S5 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S7 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R3-S3 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S3 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S2 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S1 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R2-S2, 21.1R3 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R1-S2, 21.2R2 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R1-S1, 21.3R2 on EX2300 Series, EX2300-MP Series, EX3400 Series.

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

Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions in IPv6 packet processing on EX Series switches (EX2300, EX2300-MP, EX3400) allows remote attackers to exhaust DMA memory by sending specific IPv6 packets, causing Packet DMA heap to reach 99% and leading to Denial of Service through traffic stoppage or fxpc process crash.

MitigationApply Junos OS software updates to the fixed versions specified in the Juniper advisory; monitor Packet DMA heap utilization using 'request pfe execute target fpc0 timeout 30 command show heap' and watch for the log messages indicating buffer allocation failures.

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:= 18.4= 19.1= 19.2= 19.3= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2= 20.3= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3

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. Identify the device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or 'show version' to confirm the EX Series model is EX2300, EX2300-MP, or EX3400
    Affected if Device is NOT one of these three models - the vulnerability only affects EX2300, EX2300-MP, and EX3400
  2. Check installed Junos version
    Run 'show version' and locate the Junos OS version number
    Affected if Version matches any of these: 18.4, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, or 21.3 - only these specific versions are affected
  3. Verify IPv6 is enabled
    Run 'show ipv6 interface' to confirm IPv6 is configured and active on any interface
    Affected if IPv6 is enabled - the flaw is triggered specifically by malicious IPv6 packets; if IPv6 is disabled, the attack surface does not exist
  4. Monitor Packet DMA heap utilization
    Run 'request pfe execute target fpc0 timeout 30 command show heap' and examine the Packet DMA heap usage percentage
    Affected if Packet DMA heap is at or near 99% utilization, indicating the exhaustion condition described in the advisory
  5. Check for related system logs
    Run 'show log messages' and search for buffer allocation failures, fxpc process crashes, or DMA-related errors
    Affected if Logs show fxpc process crashes, buffer allocation failures, or DMA memory exhaustion messages

You are affected if you have an EX2300, EX2300-MP, or EX3400 switch running Junos version 18.4 through 21.3 with IPv6 enabled, and you observe high Packet DMA heap usage or fxpc crashes.

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

Apply Junos OS software updates to the fixed versions specified in the Juniper advisory; monitor Packet DMA heap utilization using 'request pfe execute target fpc0 timeout 30 command show heap' and watch for the log messages indicating buffer allocation failures.

Recommended fix High confidence

18.4R3-S10, 19.1R3-S7, 19.2R3-S4, or 19.3R3-S5 (depending on starting branch); later versions also contain the fix

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version running on the EX Series device (EX2300, EX2300-MP, or EX3400) using 'show version'
  2. 2. Based on the current version branch, plan upgrade to the minimum fixed version: For 18.4.x upgrade to 18.4R3-S10 or later; For 19.1.x upgrade to 19.1R3-S7 or later; For 19.2.x upgrade to 19.2R3-S4 or later; For 19.3.x upgrade to 19.3R3-S5 or later; For 19.4.x upgrade to 19.4R3-S7 or later; For 20.1.x upgrade to 20.1R3-S3 or later; For 20.2.x upgrade to 20.2R3-S3 or later; For 20.3.x upgrade to
  3. 3. Download the appropriate Junos SR upgrade image from the Juniper Networks support portal
  4. 4. Back up the current configuration using 'request system backup' or 'file copy' to external storage
  5. 5. Upgrade the device using 'request system software add <package> reboot' or via USB if remote access is a concern
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the new version with 'show version' and confirm the vulnerability is resolved
  7. 7. Monitor Packet DMA heap utilization using 'request pfe execute target fpc0 timeout 30 command "show heap"' to ensure stability
Caveat Review Juniper release notes for any migration considerations; EX2300-MP may have specific hardware compatibility notes

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
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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-2022-22180 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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