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JunosOperating system · Juniper

CVE-2023-28959

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.1 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 Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in packet processing of Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX10002 allows an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker on the local broadcast domain sending a malformed packet to the device, causing all PFEs other than the inbound PFE to wedge and to eventually restart, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition. Continued receipt and processing of this packet will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue can only be triggered by sending a specific malformed packet to the device. Transit traffic does not trigger this issue. An indication of this issue occurring can be seen through the following log messages: fpc0 expr_hostbound_packet_handler: Receive pe 73? fpc0 Cmerror Op Set: PE Chip: PE0[0]: PGQ:misc_intr: 0x00000020: Enqueue of a packet with out-of-range VOQ in 192K-VOQ mode (URI: /fpc/0/pfe/0/cm/0/PE_Chip/0/PECHIP_CMERROR_PGQ_MISC_INT_EVENTS_ENQ_192K_VIOL) The logs list below can also be observed when this issue occurs fpc0 Error: /fpc/0/pfe/0/cm/0/PE_Chip/0/PECHIP_CMERROR_PGQ_MISC_INT_EVENTS_ENQ_192K_VIOL (0x210107), scope: pfe, category: functional, severity: major, module: PE Chip, type: Description for PECHIP_CMERROR_PGQ_MISC_INT_EVENTS_ENQ_192K_VIOL fpc0 Performing action cmalarm for error /fpc/0/pfe/0/cm/0/PE_Chip/0/PECHIP_CMERROR_PGQ_MISC_INT_EVENTS_ENQ_192K_VIOL (0x210107) in module: PE Chip with scope: pfe category: functional level: major fpc0 Error: /fpc/0/pfe/0/cm/0/PE_Chip/0/PECHIP_CMERROR_CM_INT_REG_DCHK_PIPE (0x21011a), scope: pfe, category: functional, severity: fatal, module: PE Chip, type: Description for PECHIP_CMERROR_CM_INT_REG_DCHK_PIPE fpc0 Performing action cmalarm for error /fpc/0/pfe/0/cm/0/PE_Chip/0/PECHIP_CMERROR_CM_INT_REG_DCHK_PIPE (0x21011a) in module: PE Chip with scope: pfe category: functional level: fatal fpc0 Performing action disable-pfe for error /fpc/0/pfe/0/cm/0/PE_Chip/0/PECHIP_CMERROR_CM_INT_REG_DCHK_PIPE (0x21011a) in module: PE Chip with scope: pfe category: functional level: fatal This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS on QFX10002: All versions prior to 19.1R3-S10; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R3-S11; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3-S7; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R3-S6; 21.1 versions prior to 21.1R3-S4; 21.2 versions prior to 21.2R3-S4; 21.3 versions prior to 21.3R3-S3; 21.4 versions prior to 21.4R3-S2; 22.1 versions prior to 22.1R3-S1; 22.2 versions prior to 22.2R2-S1, 22.2R3; 22.3 versions prior to 22.3R1-S2, 22.3R2.

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

This is an improper handling of exceptional conditions vulnerability in packet processing on Juniper Networks Junos OS for QFX10002 switches. An unauthenticated adjacent attacker on the local broadcast domain can send a specific malformed packet that causes all Packet Forwarding Engines (PFEs) except the inbound PFE to wedge and eventually restart, resulting in a Denial of Service. The issue is triggered only by a specific malformed packet format and cannot be triggered by transit traffic.

MitigationApply the appropriate Junos OS upgrade to a fixed version as specified in the Juniper advisory. Until patched, consider network segmentation to limit adjacent attacker access and monitor for the identified log messages indicating the vulnerability is being triggered.

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:< 19.1= 19.1= 19.4= 20.2= 20.4= 21.1= 21.2= 21.3= 21.4= 22.1= 22.2= 22.3

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
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 QFX10002 switch
    Affected if Device model is QFX10002
  2. Check Junos OS version
    Run 'show version' and compare the installed Junos version against the affected list: < 19.1, 19.1, 19.4, 20.2, 20.4, 21.1, 21.2, 21.3, 21.4, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3
    Affected if Installed version matches any of the listed affected versions
  3. Assess network exposure
    Verify if the device management or management VLAN is accessible to unauthenticated adjacent attackers on the local broadcast domain
    Affected if Untrusted adjacent network access is allowed to the device
  4. Review system logs for crash indicators
    Run 'show system core-dumps' and check /var/log/messages for PFE restart events or wedge messages following the pattern described in Juniper advisory
    Affected if Multiple PFE restarts or wedge conditions are logged without corresponding hardware issues

Device is affected if it is a QFX10002 switch running an affected Junos version AND is exposed to adjacent network attackers who could send the malformed packet.

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 19.1 or later
Fixed in 19.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate Junos OS upgrade to a fixed version as specified in the Juniper advisory. Until patched, consider network segmentation to limit adjacent attacker access and monitor for the identified log messages indicating the vulnerability is being triggered.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to the appropriate S-release: 19.1R3-S10, 19.4R3-S11, 20.2R3-S7, 20.4R3-S6, 21.1R3-S4, 21.2R3-S4, 21.3R3-S3, 21.4R3-S2, 22.1R3-S1, 22.2R3, or 22.3R2 depending on your starting version

  1. 1. Identify the current Junos OS version on the QFX10002 device using 'show version'
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current version: versions < 19.1 upgrade to 19.1R3-S10; 19.4.x upgrade to 19.4R3-S11; 20.2.x upgrade to 20.2R3-S7; 20.4.x upgrade to 20.4R3-S6; 21.1.x upgrade to 21.1R3-S4; 21.2.x upgrade to 21.2R3-S4; 21.3.x upgrade to 21.3R3-S3; 21.4.x upgrade to 21.4R3-S2; 22.1.x upgrade to 22.1R3-S1; 22.2.x upgrade to 22.2R3; 22.3.x upgrade to 22.3R2
  3. 3. Download the appropriate S-release firmware from the Juniper Networks support portal
  4. 4. Upload the firmware to the device using 'request system software add <package>' or through the management interface
  5. 5. Reboot the device to apply the new software version using 'request system reboot'
  6. 6. After reboot, verify the new version is running with 'show version' and confirm the fix is applied
  7. 7. Monitor logs for the error messages mentioned in the advisory (PECHIP_CMERROR_PGQ_MISC_INT_EVENTS_ENQ_192K_VIOL) to confirm the issue is resolved
Caveat Standard Junos upgrade considerations apply - ensure compatibility with existing configurations and review Juniper's migration guides; S-releases are generally maintenance updates with backward compatibility

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

Fix this in Junos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
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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-2023-28959 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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