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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-22406

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.3 / 20.4 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
A Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerability in the kernel of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS). In a segment-routing scenario with OSPF as IGP, when a peer interface continuously flaps, next-hop churn will happen and a continuous increase in Routing Protocol Daemon (rpd) memory consumption will be observed. This will eventually lead to an rpd crash and restart when the memory is full. The memory consumption can be monitored using the CLI command "show task memory detail" as shown in the following example: user@host> show task memory detail | match "RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE|RT_TEMPLATE_BOOK_KEE" RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE 1008 1024 T 50 51200 50 51200 RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE 688 768 T 50 38400 50 38400 RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE 368 384 T 412330 158334720 412330 158334720 RT_TEMPLATE_BOOK_KEE 2064 2560 T 33315 85286400 33315 85286400 user@host> show task memory detail | match "RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE|RT_TEMPLATE_BOOK_KEE" RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE 1008 1024 T 50 51200 50 51200 RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE 688 768 T 50 38400 50 38400 RT_NEXTHOPS_TEMPLATE 368 384 T 419005 160897920 419005 160897920 <=== RT_TEMPLATE_BOOK_KEE 2064 2560 T 39975 102336000 39975 10233600 <=== This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS All versions prior to 19.3R3-S7; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R2-S8, 19.4R3-S9; 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 21.1R3-S3; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S2; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S1; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R2-S1, 21.4R3; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2. Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved All versions prior to 20.4R3-S4-EVO; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R2-S1-EVO, 21.4R3-EVO; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2-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

A memory leak vulnerability exists in the kernel of Juniper Networks Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved where memory is not released after effective lifetime. In segment-routing scenarios with OSPF as the IGP, continuous flapping of a peer interface triggers next-hop churn, causing Routing Protocol Daemon (rpd) memory consumption to continuously increase until exhaustion leads to crash and restart.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patches for your specific Junos OS version. Monitor memory usage using 'show task memory detail' to identify affected devices, and schedule maintenance windows for controlled upgrades.

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:< 19.3= 19.3= 19.4= 20.2= 20.3= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1
Junos Os EvolvedOperating system
Affected:< 20.4= 20.4= 21.4= 22.1

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
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. Verify Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' or 'show version detail' to identify the installed Junos OS version
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these: < 19.3, 19.3, 19.4, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, or 22.1 (for Junos); or < 20.4, 20.4, 21.4, or 22.1 (for Junos OS Evolved)
  2. Confirm segment-routing is enabled
    Run 'show configuration protocols isis' and look for 'source-packet-routing' or 'segment-routing' configuration statements
    Affected if Segment-routing is configured and active in the network
  3. Verify OSPF is the IGP
    Run 'show configuration protocols ospf' to confirm OSPF is configured as the interior gateway protocol
    Affected if OSPF is configured as the IGP in the segment-routing domain
  4. Check for peer interface flapping
    Run 'show interface statistics' repeatedly or review system logs for 'link down'/'link up' events on peer interfaces
    Affected if Continuous interface flapping is occurring on segment-routing enabled interfaces
  5. Monitor rpd memory consumption
    Run 'show task memory detail' and examine the Routing Protocol Daemon (rpd) memory usage over time
    Affected if rpd memory usage is continuously increasing without returning to baseline levels

You are affected if your device runs a vulnerable Junos version AND has segment-routing enabled with OSPF as the IGP AND is experiencing ongoing interface flapping that causes rpd memory to grow until exhaustion.

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 19.3 / 20.4 or later
Fixed in 19.320.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied patches for your specific Junos OS version. Monitor memory usage using 'show task memory detail' to identify affected devices, and schedule maintenance windows for controlled upgrades.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the version indicated in the advisory for your release train (e.g., 22.1R2, 21.4R3, 20.4R3-S4, or respective Evolved versions)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS or Junos OS Evolved version using 'show version' command
  2. 2. Based on your current version, determine the appropriate fixed release from the Juniper advisory (e.g., 19.3R3-S7, 19.4R2-S8, 20.2R3-S5, 20.4R3-S4, 21.4R2-S1, 22.1R2 or respective Evolved versions)
  3. 3. Download the recommended maintenance release from the Juniper Networks support portal
  4. 4. Plan a maintenance window as the upgrade will require a system reboot
  5. 5. Backup the current configuration using 'request system configuration backup'
  6. 6. Copy the new Junos image to the device using 'request system software add <package>'
  7. 7. Reboot the device using 'request system reboot'
  8. 8. After reboot, verify the new version with 'show version'
Caveat Standard Junos upgrade risks apply - verify configuration compatibility and plan for brief downtime during reboot

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

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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-2023-22406 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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