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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-1697

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.4 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
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
An Improper Handling of Missing Values vulnerability in the Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to cause a dcpfe process core and thereby a Denial of Service (DoS). Continued receipt of these specific frames will cause a sustained Denial of Service condition. This issue occurs when a specific malformed ethernet frame is received. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX10000 Series, PTX1000 Series Series: All versions prior to 19.4R3-S10; 20.1 version 20.1R1 and later versions; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S6; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S6; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S5; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S4; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S3; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S1; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2-S1, 22.1R3; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R1-S2, 22.2R2.

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 Packet Forwarding Engine (PFE) allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to send malformed ethernet frames that cause the dcpfe process to crash (core), resulting in sustained DoS. The issue stems from improper handling of missing values when processing specific frame types.

MitigationApply Juniper-provided software updates for affected versions (19.4R3-S10+, 20.1R1+, 20.2R3-S6+, etc.) as listed in the advisory. Network segmentation may limit attack surface from adjacent attackers.

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:< 19.4= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2= 20.3= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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 Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' on the device CLI and locate the Junos version string (e.g., 19.4R3.5)
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these: any version below 19.4, exactly 19.4, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.1, or 22.2
  2. Check for dcpfe process crashes
    Run 'show system core-dumps' or 'request system core-dump list' to look for dcpfe-related crash files
    Affected if Recent dcpfe core dumps exist, especially if correlated with timing of suspicious network activity
  3. Review system logs for PFE errors
    Run 'show log messages' and search for entries containing 'dcpfe', 'PFE', 'crash', or 'ethernet frame' errors
    Affected if Logs show dcpfe restarts or ethernet frame processing errors from adjacent interfaces
  4. Assess network exposure to adjacent attackers
    Verify interface configurations and firewall policies to determine if the device accepts ethernet frames from untrusted adjacent network segments
    Affected if The device has exposed interfaces in untrusted network segments where unauthenticated attackers could send malformed frames

A user is affected if their Junos version falls within the listed affected versions AND the device is reachable by adjacent attackers on network segments that can send ethernet frames to the device.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 19.4 or later
Fixed in 19.4
Interim mitigation

Apply Juniper-provided software updates for affected versions (19.4R3-S10+, 20.1R1+, 20.2R3-S6+, etc.) as listed in the advisory. Network segmentation may limit attack surface from adjacent attackers.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

19.4R3-S10, 20.2R3-S6, 20.3R3-S6, 20.4R3-S5, 21.1R3-S4, 21.2R3-S3, 21.3R3-S3, 21.4R3-S1, 22.1R3, or 22.2R2 (depending on current branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version installed on the affected device using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: for 19.4.x upgrade to 19.4R3-S10 or later; for 20.1.x upgrade to 20.2R3-S6 or later; for 20.2.x upgrade to 20.2R3-S6 or later; for 20.3.x upgrade to 20.3R3-S6 or later; for 20.4.x upgrade to 20.4R3-S5 or later
  3. 3. For 21.x versions: 21.1 to 21.1R3-S4, 21.2 to 21.2R3-S3, 21.3 to 21.3R3-S3, 21.4 to 21.4R3-S1 or later
  4. 4. For 22.x versions: 22.1 to 22.1R3 or later (or 22.1R2-S1), 22.2 to 22.2R2 or later (or 22.2R1-S2)
  5. 5. Download the appropriate Junos software package from the Juniper Networks support portal
  6. 6. Upload the software to the device using 'file copy' or USB transfer
  7. 7. Install the upgrade using 'request system software add <package-name>' command
  8. 8. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot' command to complete the installation
Caveat Review Juniper upgrade documentation for compatibility requirements; some upgrades may require intermediate steps or have specific hardware compatibility considerations

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,040
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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-2023-1697 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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