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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-22414

MEDIUM · 6.5 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 →
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 Flexible PIC Concentrator (FPC) of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an adjacent, unauthenticated attacker from the same shared physical or logical network, to cause a heap memory leak and leading to FPC crash. On all Junos PTX Series and QFX10000 Series, when specific EVPN VXLAN Multicast packets are processed, an FPC heap memory leak is observed. The FPC memory usage can be monitored using the CLI command "show heap extensive". Following is an example output. ID Base Total(b) Free(b) Used(b) % Name Peak used % -- -------- --------- --------- --------- --- ----------- ----------- 0 37dcf000 3221225472 1694526368 1526699104 47 Kernel 47 1 17dcf000 1048576 1048576 0 0 TOE DMA 0 2 17ecf000 1048576 1048576 0 0 DMA 0 3 17fcf000 534773760 280968336 253805424 47 Packet DMA 47 This issue affects: Juniper Networks Junos OS PTX Series and QFX10000 Series 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S6; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R3-S6; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S4; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S3; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S1; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R2; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2. This issue does not affect Juniper Networks Junos OS versions prior to 20.1R1 on PTX Series and QFX10000 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

A memory leak vulnerability exists in the Flexible PIC Concentrator (FPC) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on PTX Series and QFX10000 Series devices. When specific EVPN VXLAN Multicast packets are processed, heap memory is not properly released, causing memory usage to grow until the FPC crashes. An adjacent, unauthenticated attacker on the same shared network can trigger this by sending crafted EVPN VXLAN multicast traffic.

MitigationUpgrade Junos OS to the fixed versions (20.2R3-S6, 20.3R3-S6, 20.4R3-S4, 21.1R3-S3, 21.2R3-S1, 21.3R3, 21.4R3, 22.1R2, or 22.2R2 and later). If immediate patching is not possible, consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted adjacent attackers and monitor FPC memory using 'show heap extensive'.

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:= 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 device model
    Run 'show chassis hardware' or 'show version' to confirm the device is a PTX Series or QFX10000 Series platform
    Affected if Device is not PTX or QFX10000 series - those are the only affected platforms
  2. Check Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' and compare the installed Junos version against the affected releases: 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.1, 22.2
    Affected if Installed version matches one of the affected releases listed
  3. Verify EVPN VXLAN configuration
    Run 'show configuration protocols evpn' and 'show configuration protocols vxlan' to check if EVPN VXLAN features are configured and active
    Affected if EVPN VXLAN is configured and operational - this is the feature that triggers the vulnerability
  4. Check for FPC crashes or restarts
    Run 'show log messages' and search for FPC-related crash logs, or use 'show chassis fpc' to identify any FPC that has recently restarted
    Affected if FPC crashes or unexpected restarts are occurring, especially coinciding with EVPN VXLAN traffic patterns

Device is affected if it is a PTX or QFX10000 Series running an affected Junos version (20.2-22.2) with EVPN VXLAN enabled, and FPC memory growth or crashes are observed.

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 the fixed versions (20.2R3-S6, 20.3R3-S6, 20.4R3-S4, 21.1R3-S3, 21.2R3-S1, 21.3R3, 21.4R3, 22.1R2, or 22.2R2 and later). If immediate patching is not possible, consider network segmentation to limit exposure to untrusted adjacent attackers and monitor FPC memory using 'show heap extensive'.

Recommended fix High confidence

20.2R3-S6, 20.3R3-S6, 20.4R3-S4, 21.1R3-S3, 21.2R3-S1, 21.3R3, 21.4R3, 22.1R2, or 22.2R2 (choose the earliest supported release in your maintenance branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version running on the affected PTX Series or QFX10000 Series device using the CLI command: show version
  2. 2. Plan a maintenance window for the upgrade, as this will require a system reboot
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed Junos OS version from the Juniper Networks support portal (kb.juniper.net)
  4. 4. Upload the Junos OS upgrade package to the device using: file copy or USB storage
  5. 5. Install the upgrade using the CLI command: request system software add <package_name>
  6. 6. After installation completes, reboot the device using: request system reboot
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade was successful and the device is operational using: show version
  8. 8. After the FPC restarts, verify the memory leak is resolved using: show heap extensive
Caveat Standard Junos OS upgrade considerations apply - review release notes for any changes to features or configuration syntax, and ensure compatibility with other network devices

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,420
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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-2023-22414 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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