dbcve.org
JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-22398

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Access of Uninitialized Pointer vulnerability in the Routing Protocol Daemon (rpd) of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows a locally authenticated attacker with low privileges to cause a Denial of Service (DoS). When an MPLS ping is performed on BGP LSPs, the RPD might crash. Repeated execution of this operation will lead to a sustained DoS. This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS: 15.1 versions prior to 15.1R7-S12; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S9; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S9, 19.2R3-S5; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R3-S6; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-S7, 19.4R3-S8; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R3-S4; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S5; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S5; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S4; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R1-S1, 21.1R2; Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved: All versions prior to 20.4R3-S4; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R2-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

An uninitialized pointer vulnerability in the Routing Protocol Daemon (rpd) causes a crash when an MPLS ping is performed on BGP Label Switched Paths (LSPs). A locally authenticated attacker with low privileges can trigger this condition, causing rpd to crash. Repeated execution leads to sustained Denial of Service.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to a version that includes the fix (15.1R7-S12, 19.1R3-S9, 19.2R1-S9/19.2R3-S5, 19.3R3-S6, 19.4R2-S7/19.4R3-S8, 20.1R3-S4, 20.2R3-S5, 20.3R3-S5, 20.4R3-S4, 21.1R1-S1/21.1R2 or later) or Junos OS Evolved to 20.4R3-S4 or 21.1R2-EVO or later.

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:= 15.1= 19.1= 19.2= 19.3= 19.4= 20.1= 20.2= 20.3= 20.4= 21.1
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system
Affected:= 20.4= 21.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 Junos version
    Run 'show version' or 'show version detail' on the device CLI to obtain the installed Junos version
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected versions: 15.1, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, or 21.1 (for Junos) or 20.4/21.1 (for Junos OS Evolved)
  2. Verify rpd is running
    Run 'show system processes routing' or 'ps -ax | grep rpd' to confirm the Routing Protocol Daemon is active
    Affected if The rpd process is running on the device
  3. Confirm MPLS is enabled
    Run 'show configuration protocols mpls' to check if MPLS protocol is configured
    Affected if MPLS protocol is configured and active on the device
  4. Check for BGP LSP configuration
    Run 'show configuration protocols bgp' and look for 'label-switched-path' or 'lsp' configuration under BGP groups
    Affected if BGP is configured with Label Switched Paths (LSPs) defined

The device is affected if it runs a vulnerable Junos version (15.1, 19.x, 20.x, or 21.1) with rpd active and has MPLS ping capability enabled on BGP LSPs that can be accessed by a low-privilege local attacker.

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 version that includes the fix (15.1R7-S12, 19.1R3-S9, 19.2R1-S9/19.2R3-S5, 19.3R3-S6, 19.4R2-S7/19.4R3-S8, 20.1R3-S4, 20.2R3-S5, 20.3R3-S5, 20.4R3-S4, 21.1R1-S1/21.1R2 or later) or Junos OS Evolved to 20.4R3-S4 or 21.1R2-EVO or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the fixed release for your current branch (e.g., 20.4R3-S4 for 20.4, 21.1R2 for 21.1, or 20.4R3-S4/21.1R2-EVO for Junos OS Evolved)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved version installed on the device using 'show version'
  2. 2. Based on the installed version, determine the appropriate target fixed version from the remediation guidance
  3. 3. For Junos OS: Upgrade to 15.1R7-S12 or later for 15.1 branch; 19.1R3-S9 or later for 19.1 branch; 19.2R3-S5 or later for 19.2 branch; 19.3R3-S6 or later for 19.3 branch; 19.4R3-S8 or later for 19.4 branch; 20.1R3-S4 or later for 20.1 branch; 20.2R3-S5 or later for 20.2 branch; 20.3R3-S5 or later for 20.3 branch; 20.4R3-S4 or later for 20.4 branch; 21.1R2 or later for 21.1 branch
  4. 4. For Junos OS Evolved: Upgrade to 20.4R3-S4 or later for 20.4 branch; 21.1R2-EVO or later for 21.1 branch
  5. 5. Download the appropriate upgrade package from the Juniper Networks support portal
  6. 6. Upload the upgrade package to the device using 'file copy' or USB
  7. 7. Install the upgrade using 'request system software add <package>' command
  8. 8. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot' to apply the changes
Caveat Standard Junos upgrade risks apply - review release notes for your specific version for any potential configuration or feature changes

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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-22398 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-22398 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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